Kevin Shattenkirk has officially announced his retirement. The defenseman played 14 seasons in the NHL from 2010 to 2024 with three of those seasons coming with the Anaheim Ducks.
When Shattenkirk joined the Ducks via free agency on a three-year, $11.7 million contract, he was coming off of a Stanley Cup-winning season with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019-20. Shattenkirk had reinvigorated himself with the Lightning after being bought out of his big money deal by the New York Rangers the previous season. In a more appropriate role, Shattenkirk flourished with the Lightning and was a valuable contributor during their Cup run.
Shattenkirk joined the Ducks during a time when they were looking for stability on the right side of defense behind Josh Manson. Adding Shattenkirk also gave them another veteran to lean on alongside players like Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, Adam Henrique and captain Ryan Getzlaf as Bob Murray—the Ducks’ general manager at the time—attempted to navigate a “retool”.
“Coming into my contract here, we knew what was going on with the team,” Shattenkirk said. “There was definitely a process here and a rebuilding focus.”
However, Shattenkirk was miscast as a top-4 defenseman, a role that he was unable to handle with the Rangers and a role that he struggled to take on in Anaheim as well. His Ducks tenure coincided with some of the worst seasons in franchise history, though he is not single-handedly at fault for this.
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Despite his on-ice play perhaps not being up to expectations, Shattenkirk provided valuable leadership for the Ducks’ young players like Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale and Troy Terry. Shattenkirk played in over 200 games for the Ducks, contributing 15 goals and 67 assists.
“I think I knew early on that my job coming into the locker room was going to be to try and help the young guys and try to be a leader and use my experience from my last 10, 11 seasons to add any sort of insight that I could to the young guys.”
-Kevin Shattenkirk
“It’s like three years flew by,” Shattenkirk said shortly after playing his 200th game for the Ducks during the 2022-23 season. “We had that quick season to start (due to COVID-19), so that was an adjustment just getting used to the guys. It was still kind of a COVID year.
“It’s been up and down. I think I had some flashes of who I can be as a player. Some moments that I wish I was stronger, whether it was offensively or defensively. I think part of that goes with the growing pains of the team. I think I’ve just tried to be as consistent as I possibly could.”
‘I Never Knew Hockey Would Take Me This Far’: Kevin Shattenkirk Retires From NHL
Outside of his Ducks career, Shattenkirk appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs eight times with the St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins.
He played in 952 NHL games with the Blues, Ducks, Rangers, Lightning, Bruins, Capitals and Colorado Avalanche.
