A year after being bought out by the Rangers, Kevin Shattenkirk went and won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning. That did wonders for his image in the league as he's now signed with the Anaheim Ducks for three years with an AAV just under $4M. He goes to a team that has been bad for a couple years, but looked to be turning the ship late in the 2019-20 season. Bringing in a good veteran on the blue line can only help on a team that is handing the keys over to the kids.

What Anaheim gets

Shattenkirk, to me, is a guy who does a lot of offensive things well but doesn't excel in any one area (as explained by the chart below). He's good in transition, but not elite. He's good at finding targets for his passes in the offensive zone, but he's not among the best in the league. He can get regular shots off, but is a far, far cry from a Dougie Hamilton-type. He's not great defensively, but being able to transition the puck is something that is important to get this offence going:

Perhaps his biggest impact, though, would come on the power play. Generally speaking, all those skills he has at 5-on-5 that can lead to solid transition and passing numbers also applies to the power play. The skillset isn't identical but making dangerous passes in the offensive zone is something a power play needs, and something Shattenkirk is capable of. The question is if he can supplant Cam Fowler, who has had the lion's share of PP minutes over the last few years. If Shattenkirk can do that, even on a team that may struggle to score, it puts 40 points within reach.

If he doesn't get top PP minutes, though, he may not be worth a lot in fantasy. Anaheim has a long way to go before becoming an offensive juggernaut – they've been bottom-10 in goals the last two years – so the difference between PP1 and PP2 minutes could be 40+ points and 25-30 points. There won't be enough offence here to support multiple defencemen surpassing 40 points, lest something really unforeseen occur.

This seems like a really good signing for Anaheim given where they're at as a franchise, but fantasy-wise, this is far from a slam-dunk for Shattenkirk. He's never been a guy to rack up huge minutes, so he'll probably sit around 20 minutes a night. He does enough in other categories – triple-digit blocks, a hit per game, 150 shots – that he doesn't need three minutes of PP time a night to be fantasy-relevant, but he needs those three minutes of PP time a night to be fantasy-reliable.

It gives Anaheim needed depth on the right side and those 20 minutes a night will come in the top-4. I don't expect Shattenkirk to hit the bottom pair unless things really go sideways again. Because of the lack of ANA depth on the right side, it doesn't really impact anyone just yet.

With Shattenkirk gone, expect Erik Cernak to get back above 19 minutes a game next year in Tampa and maybe even crack 20. That is good news for a guy who can put up massive peripherals.

Who this helps

Kevin Shattenkirk

Erik Cernak

Rickard Rakell

Who this hurts

No one