NHL Trade Rumors: Kevin Shattenkirk to Boston Bruins

Kevin Shattenkirk of the St. Louis Blues is involved in trade rumors. He is a hot commodity because he is one of the NHL's best offensive defensemen below the elite class of Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns.

Shattenkirk has one year left on his deal that pays him $4.25 million annually. The 27 year old accumulated over 40 points in four of his last five seasons. Blues GM Doug Armstrong may not have the cap space to keep Shattenkirk.

St. Louis has roughly $15 million in cap space, but it has unrestricted free agents David Backes and Troy Brouwer to sign. If the Blues fail to sign Backes or Brouwer, then they may decide to keep Shattenkirk.

Currently, there are six teams in a bidding war for Shattenkirk, according to Bruce Garrioch, including the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers. The Bruins are the front runners.

The Bruins desperately need a top pairing defenseman to replace Zdeno Chara or Dennis Seidenberg, who are close to retirement. As well, Shattenkirk is from the New England area and he played collegiate hockey at Boston University.