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Blackhawks: Breaking Down the Andrew Shaw Trade

By Tony Gianares

NEWARK, NJ - NOVEMBER 06: Andrew Shaw #65 of the Chicago Blackhawks waits for a faceoff in an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on November 6, 2015 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - NOVEMBER 06: Andrew Shaw #65 of the Chicago Blackhawks waits for a faceoff in an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on November 6, 2015 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /
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Stan Bowman brought back a familiar face in Andrew Shaw. However, the track record with these reunion tours has been unsuccessful to this point. Let’s hope this reunion isn’t another swing and a miss.

My instant reaction to the trade is total confusion. Andrew Shaw comes with a $3.9 mil AAV cap hit through the 2021-22 season, which probably prevents the Blackhawks from signing Joe Pavelski, Anders Lee or any other significant UFA this offseason. This also prevents the Blackhawks from getting early extensions done for both Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome.

Although the Blackhawks do still have the option of trading other big salary cap hits such as Artem Anisimov ($4.55 mil AAV) or Brandon Saad ($6 mil AAV), you have to wonder what StanBo & Co. is planning in the next few weeks.

In my opinion, the price that they paid for Andrew Shaw is kind of overkill. In the deal, the Blackhawks lose 3 draft picks, which includes a 2020 2nd round pick, 2020 7th round pick, and 2021 3rd round pick.

I’m not sure Shaw is worth all of that, considering he will probably be a 3rd liner, or possibly, a 2nd liner at best.

What Will the Blackhawks Lineup Look Like?

With this trade, the Blackhawks have added more roster depth which is something they lacked last season. Andrew Shaw did have a career-best season playing alongside some more offensively gifted players in Montreal, so it will be interesting to see if he can pick up where he left off.

Shaw posted a solid stat line of 47 points (19G, 28A) with a 17 ± rating in 63 games. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for that same type of production in a Blackhawks sweater next season. If he is able to maintain these production rates, then it softens the steep price of his acquisition.

It will be interesting to see which line Andrew Shaw ultimately ends up playing on. Let’s take a look at what the Blackhawks lineup could look like with the players who are currently under contract.

Here’s my suggestion for 2019-20 line combinations:

2019 NHL Free Agency opens up tomorrow (July 1st), so there’s no doubt that there are more roster moves coming in the next few days. It has been an extremely interesting offseason for the Blackhawks thus far, and I’m expecting better results in the 2019-20 season based on the moves that the team has made so far.

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