Kevin Shattenkirk is excited to finally be on the same side as the player that NHLers least enjoy playing against.
Shattenkirk, a 13-year NHL veteran, signed a one-year contract worth about $1 million with the Boston Bruins on Saturday. That means he'll get to play alongside known pest Brad Marchand, who also happens to be one of the most talented players in the league.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Shattenkirk shared his thoughts on Marchand as a longtime opponent.
"I've always had tremendous respect for him," Shattenkirk. "You see what he does on the ice and he's an amazing player in that regard. I mean, he has the ability to obviously get under your skin verbally and affect you that way, but then he also backs it up when you look at the score sheet at the end of the night.
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"He's a hard worker, first and foremost. He's someone who obviously cares about winning and he's been successful his entire career. I'm looking forward to finally playing with him because he's a special player. Anything that I can do to help out from a leadership perspective and help him, someone who obviously knows the locker room really well."
The 34-year-old defenseman also revealed how Marchand welcomed him to Boston.
"He was one of the first calls that I got after I signed and was the first one to extend his hand and offer any sort of help that he and his wife could for our family," Shattenkirk said. "So, I know how much he means to this organization and I'm really looking forward to being on the same team as him finally."
Right-shot d-man Connor Clifton's departure in free agency left a spot open on the Bruins' third pairing. Shattenkirk explained how he'll bring value to the B's by filling that role and, perhaps even more importantly, bringing his veteran leadership to the locker room.
"I know that I'm probably a third-pair guy. Certainly, if there's any need for me to jump up and fill in the injury or whatever it might be, I'm capable of doing that. But playing minutes there, 5-on-5, and slotting in on the second power play and being able to run that and hopefully add a little bit of depth there with the team.
"And I think the other thing especially, I talked to (Bruins coach) Jim Montgomery about this, is between Hampus (Lindholm) and Charlie (McAvoy), there's two really Norris-caliber defensemen there and they're still growing into their expectations as players. I think being able to be a sounding board for them, especially in that kind of role, a power play role or whatever, is something we discussed and something that is kind of expected of me. I've done it before and it'll be very similar to kind of my role in Tampa when I went there for a year."
Shattenkirk tallied 27 points (four goals, 23 assists) in 75 games for the Anaheim Ducks last season. He earned a Stanley Cup ring with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019-20.
