Now that the Blues are in their offseason, Kevin Shattenkirk will enter his third round of trade speculation in the past year.

The rumors began at the NHL draft last summer, when it was believed that the Blues were close on a blockbuster deal involving the All-Star defenseman and T.J. Oshie. Oshie was dealt, but Shattenkirk stayed. The talk picked up again before the league’s trading deadline last February, but nothing materialized.

Facing a summer of salary-cap uncertainty, and with Shattenkirk entering the final season of his contract, the Blues could finally be reaching the point where they pull the trigger on what may be an unpopular yet necessary move.

“It was a wild year with all the rumors going on,” Shattenkirk said. “It might plant the seed of doubt in your head but that’s not my decision. I have a year left and this is where I want to be next year, so that’s out of my hands unfortunately. It’s the nature of the salary-cap league and it’s tough.

“(But) you hear those rumors and you wonder what’s going to happen and now you get into the offseason and you wonder what’s going to happen again. We’ll have to see what happens the next few weeks. Again, this is where is home is and this is where I want to be.”