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Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo were the pundits' two must-sign guys of the off-season. Blues fans figured that it'd get done, but wondered how quickly, and if it'd be reasonable. You all can cross Shatty off of the Blues "to-do" list, because he's been done up in a four year deal that rewards him handsomely. From the Blues' press release:
The Blues and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk have agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension.
Shattenkirk played in all 48 games in 2012-13, ranking second among Blues defensemen with 23 points. During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he tied for the lead among Blues defensemen with two points in six games.
He would have been a restricted free agent had he not been re-signed by July 5.
This prevents the messy RFA negiotation process from getting too heated, and it also prevents Paul Holmgren from offer-sheeting Shattenkirk. Win win! Capgeek.com has the terms of the contract at $4.25 million a season, which is perfect. It's obviously not an overpayment, but is still a nice chunk of change and a great reward for someone who is one of the league's top guys. It's a shrewd deal for Armstrong, and it should calm people who were concerned that the Blues didn't have the cash to re-up their free agents.
Still remaining are Chris Stewart and Pietrangelo. Petro will more than likely make more than Shattenkirk, but I don't believe he'll be overpaid either. Stewart? He was the team's top producer last season but was invisible (like most of the team) in the post-season. It remains to be seen which performance he'll be paid for.