Chicago Blackhawks’ Hartman Proving Better Value Than Shaw

Ryan Hartman was seen as an Andrew Shaw replacement this season for the Chicago Blackhawks, so how do the two compare?

This past offseason, the Chicago Blackhawks had to once again purge some young talent from their roster to get underneath the NHL salary cap. The Blackhawks traded away Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell to Carolina in a straight salary dump.

The Teravainen/Bickell trade was made to free up money to potentially re-sign Andrew Shaw. Shaw and his agent would price him out of the Blackhawks’ price range.

Shaw was then sent to the Montreal Canadiens for draft picks. It was a big blow to the team at the time of the trade. Shaw was part of the Blackhawks’ depth that made the team so successful. He was a high-energy grinder,  who gave the team a net-front presence on powerplay. He is also widely known as an agitator.

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With Shaw gone, the Blackhawks were looking for internal options to fill the role. While the Blackhawks did not trade Shaw for Ryan Hartman, Hartman was his logical replacement. I will argue that the Blackhawks have found a better option thus far in Hartman.

Here is the comparison:

By the numbers: Shaw vs. Hartman

Andrew Shaw 2016 Stats: 29 games, 6 goals, 9 assists 58 penalty minutes

Ryan Hartman 2016 Stats: 37 games,10 goals, 6 assists and 14 penalty minutes

Shaw might eventually outproduce Hartman in terms of points, but the biggest difference is penalty minutes.  Shaw’s career high in penalty minutes is 69 minutes, which he should easily surpass this season.

Shaw appears to be putting his team in more compromising situations with costly penalties.The Habs are a below-average team on the PK this season with a 79.9 percent conversion. Shaw is currently 11th in the NHL in total penalty minutes.

Hartman had four goals and has stayed out of the box significantly more than Shaw this season. The advantage goes to Hartman.

Advanced stats: Shaw vs. Hartman

Andrew Shaw:

Ryan Hartman:

In terms of advanced stats, both players have virtually the same stats. Hartman’s Fenwick is .1 better than Shaw’s. This is a wash in terms of comparison. It appears that Hartman still has the edge because of his ability to stay out of the box.

Rookie year comparison: Shaw vs. Hartman

Andrew Shaw: 37 games, 12 goals, 11 assists and 50 penalty minutes

Ryan Hartman: 37 games, 10 goals, 7 assists and 14 penalty minutes

Hartman will get a full 82-game season under his belt in his true rookie year, while Shaw only played 37 games in his rookie year. Their numbers are very close in their rookie campaigns.

The most important stat: Shaw’s cap hit vs. Hartman’s cap hit

Andrew Shaw’s 2016-17 cap hit: $3.9 million

Ryan Hartman’s 2016-17 cap hit: $863,333

With the Blackhawks up against the salary cap again this season, they are getting Shaw-level production and better for a significantly less of a cap Hit. The best part of this situation is that hopefully Hartman continues to progress.

Shaw might have already peaked in 2012-13 with 20 goals and 19 assists. On a team that struggles to score goals, Shaw might have trouble surpassing those numbers.

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The basic stats, advanced stats and salary cap hits provide us with the only logical conclusion: Hartman is the better value player than Shaw this season.