Trotz ripped Shattenkirk about his time as a Capital and Shattenkirk respectfully responded

BarDown Staff

Getty Images

Last season, the Washington Capitals made a splash before the trade deadline by acquiring Kevin Shattenkirk from the St. Louis Blues.

As reported by Darren Dreger, it appears Kevin Shattenkirk is on his way to Washington. For more details go to TSN.ca #TradeCentre

A post shared by TSN (@tsn_official) on Feb 27, 2017 at 7:04pm PST

At the time, many people thought this move was the one that would finally get the Capitals over the hump and help them win a Stanley Cup, but that wasn't the case and Washington lost in the second round again.

This summer, Shatternkirk stayed in the Eastern Conference as he signed with another team in the Metropolitan Division rather than with the Caps.

BREAKING: New York Rangers sign D Kevin Shattenkirk to a four-year contract worth $26.6 million (via @frank_seravalli) #TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/YLrmHjLwDX
— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) July 1, 2017

Friday night, the Rangers and Capitals square off in Washington, and ahead of the matchup Barry Trotz was asked about Shattenkirk's play with the Capitals and he was brutally honest to say the least.

Barry Trotz on Kevin Shattenkirk: "I think everybody thought of him as a 1-2, and he really wasn't. He was a little lower."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) December 7, 2017

Full quote from Barry Trotz on Kevin Shattenkirk: pic.twitter.com/tTo1OvoIm6
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) December 7, 2017

Like we said, Trotz didn't hold back and Shattenkirk responded, but he did it in a very respectful way even though he didn't appreciate his former coach's comments.

Shattenkirk on Trotz comment: "It doesn't sit well with you. It's nothing that you enjoy hearing, but I think there's a lot of people who probably think that about me. I like to use that in my favor and try to use that as something to just keep me boosted and prove people wrong."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) December 7, 2017

Why is Kevin Shattenkirk getting asked about whether he is a top-pair defenseman? Because of an honest critique from Barry Trotz.

Read more here: https://t.co/vN1pgOCFgq pic.twitter.com/gdYIhsWWfq
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) December 8, 2017

If you needed another reason to watch this game, Trotz and Shattenkirk gave it to the hockey world, and if the former Cap needed any more more motivation, Trotz gave that to him, too.

(H/T: Stephen Whyno)