/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55477093/680517600.0.jpg)
It's rumor season! Rumors are often silly and often wrong, but fun to discuss regardless.
Today's is a doozy:
Pierre McQuire on TSN Radio tonight said he thinks Shattenkirk is going to end up with the Bruins. #Bruins
— Bruins Network (@BruinsNetwork) June 27, 2017
This sounds like something off of Bruins Facebook.
First, consider the source. I like Pierre more than most. He's a little nerdy, sure, but seems to genuinely love hockey and makes the games more interesting.
Is he plugged in? Maybe. He's a hockey lifer, he probably has sources everywhere. It's possible that he could have an idea from Shattenkirk's camp of where he wants to go.
However...signing Kevin Shattenkirk would be a terrible idea for the Bruins. He will command huge money. He was making $4.5 million against the cap last year, and is the best defenseman on the UFA market.
$7 million isn't out of the question for Shattenkirk, which means this should be out of the question for the Bruins.
He's 28 and is a good defenseman. He would make the Bruins better, and many Bruins fans have been crafting "Shattenkirk to Boston" rumors for years.
However, the term and money he'd want would cripple the Bruins.
The Bruins have, according to Cap Friendly, $13.5 million in cap space. That does not include the $4-6 million David Pastrnak will get, nor does it include any of the restricted free agents they need to sign.
Shattenkirk + Pastrnak = all that cap space gone. So...yeah.
The ONLY ways Shattenkirk makes sense are: 1) he signs for a year or two to just make a run or 2) the Bruins dump significant (Beleskey, Hayes, McQuaid, Backes...) salary and sign him long term.
Neither is likely.
Pierre, I love you and know you might have talked to Shattenkirk's father's sister's cousin's tailor's dog's groomer, who you know from junior hockey, but I don't buy this one.