Unable to come to terms with the St. Louis Blues on a new contract as the 2017 NHL trade deadline approached, defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk did his best to block out the noise as the clock ticked closer to the annual cutoff. Shattenkirk, now with the Boston Bruins, in action during an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 27, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Derik Hamilton

Kevin Shattenkirk knew a deal was coming.

Unable to come to terms with the St. Louis Blues on a new contract as the 2017 NHL trade deadline approached, the defenceman did his best to block out the noise as the clock ticked closer to the annual cutoff.

Shattenkirk was simply waiting for his phone to ring. The rest would take care of itself.

"Knew that it was going to happen," he said. "We had already gone through the process of trying to make something work. Just a matter of when.

"The weeks leading up to it were pretty tough."

It didn't help that the Blues were on a road trip through Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa — along with the accompanying media scrutiny — just prior to the deadline before he eventually landed with the Washington Capitals.

"Just a lot of talk," said Shattenkirk, now with the Boston Bruins. "It can be really funky when you know you're gonna get traded, you're talking about getting traded, and then you have a game that night.

"It's just something you've got to deal with."

With this year's deadline set for Friday at 3 p.m. ET, a number of players around the NHL are feeling the same emotions.

"It's a whirlwind," blueliner Troy Stecher, who was acquired Thursday by the Edmonton Oilers from the Arizona Coyotes, said last week. "Life gets put on 'stop' for five minutes. Then it's a panic mode for the next hour.

"And you're on your way. It happens quick."

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi has been traded four times in his career, including at the last two deadlines when he went from struggling clubs to Stanley Cup contenders.

"When you know it's coming, it's pretty exciting," said Domi, who joined the Carolina Hurricanes in 2022 and the Dallas Stars in 2023. "But it's also tough."

It's not just leaving teammates, but the coaches, trainers and support staff.

"Those are the relationships that last," Domi said. "That's the toughest part, just trying to adapt to that whole new situation — a whole new city with not much familiarity."

Boston centre Charlie Coyle described the feeling of being dealt from the Minnesota Wild to his hometown Bruins in 2019.

"Your whole world changes," he said. "If you're a single guy, it's a little easier. But still it can be tough. If you're married, you have kids, I don't think a lot of people see that side of it where you gotta pick up and move. Or you're going right away to meet the team, and your wife and kids are at home, and she's gotta hold down the fort.

"There's some life things there where it just makes it tough."

Despite the excitement, a player's mind is spinning.

"You kind of think, 'Why are they trading me?'" Coyle said. "But then on the other hand, it's like, 'All right, well, this team wanted me.' You look forward to that opportunity and you get excited."

Coyotes defenceman Matt Dumba was the subject of plenty of trade rumours when he was with Minnesota.

A deal never materialized, but there's more chatter this year with him on another expiring contract in Arizona.

"My name's always been in the mix come deadline day," Dumba said. "Something that I'm used to. I don't really get caught up in all the media, social media stuff. It's just business as usual.

"It was kind of the running joke in Minnesota. But you get more comfortable with it and learn how to block it out, and rely on the agent a little more to give you the information that you need."

Shattenkirk said it was initially "nerve-racking" when he headed off to the Capitals back in 2017.

"But that's the beauty of our league," said the 35-year-old, who won the Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and is on his seventh organization. "A lot of great guys to take care of you."

Shattenkirk also had a bit of a template after getting traded to St. Louis from the Colorado Avalanche halfway through his rookie campaign.

It serves as a lesson for young players on the move from teams looking for immediate help this time of year.

"You think you're just getting kicked to the curb," he said. "Then you meet with your new general manager and he tells you, 'We weren't doing this trade unless you were in it.' That reassures you that they have confidence in you. But it can be difficult.

"You have to realize teams out there covet you … you're what they're looking for."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2024.

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