Chicago Blackhawks Part I: http://brightsidehockey.com/2016/05/02/the-blackhawks-offseason-priorities/
Presented here is the case for why Andrew Shaw should be re-signed. It was our number one priority after the Blackhawks left the playoffs, and it still has yet to be done.
Using his own words, we will examine the impact Andrew Shaw has had on the team, on the city, on the fans, and on two cup wins, in 2013 and in 2015. We will examine why he should be the Blackhawks’ top guy, and why he’s not as expendable as some have been led to believe.
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Andrew Shaw, 24, is a young man short on stature but big on heart. Being 5’11 in a league of very tall men, Shaw has always appeared little. His nature on the ice is that of the bulldog, attacking all so that his master can get away. Shaw has never been one to back down from a fight. On one occasion, he even apparently challenged Zdeno Chara to a fight which Chara declined.
In the 2013 Cup run, he fought Brad Marchand, who called him a cat, but clearly meant something else. Shaw won that fight.
In every game he’s ever played for the Chicago Blackhawks, he’s given 100% of himself. As seen this season alone, that’s not something every one can say. Not the guys making 10.5 mil. Not the other young guys trying to earn contracts. Really, the only 100%-ers are Shaw and Corey Crawford, who came in huge for the Blackhawks in nearly every game he played.
And Shaw does it not for the money, but to play with his teammates, in the city that he loves.
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When Nick Leddy was traded, Shaw lost his first roommate in Chicago. Leddy and Shaw were extremely close, and did interviews together when Leddy was still in Chicago. And when he lost Leddy, Shaw stayed content in Chicago. He wasn’t hurt, he understood the business, and he kept helping Chicago win. When Brandon Saad, another of his closest friends, was traded, he stayed quiet. And he kept trying to help Chicago win.
He’s formed a bond with Toews, and the pre-game full on body crash the two have created has become part of the fandom in Chicago and a feature on the Blackhawks’ snapchat. Shaw has stuck up for Patrick Kane as well, and when asked who he was closer to said “both”.
Andrew Shaw is the teams’ little brother. He’s the guy who will try to get players on the other bench out of their zone. He’s the constant yapper in a room full of quiet guys, the mouth on a team in need of personality.
In short, Shaw is a glue guy. In his constant talking, he keeps the team together. What he offers is more than his on-ice performance, it’s his off ice personality, his locker room presence, his never quit never say die mentality, his entire attitude, and attitude is something in short supply in Chicago.
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Shaw off the ice is a different person. Whether it’s appearing in ads, helping in charity, like he does with the Blackhawks “#WhatsYourGoal” campaign, where the Blackhawks visit with children to help. The last two ads Shaw has taken a role in. And it’s not just charity for promotion that Shaw has done, but behind the scenes as well, when he and Andrew Desjardins visited injured Matt Olson in the hospital, bringing him an Alexander Ovechkin signed stick.
In interviews, in public appearances, whenever Shaw is spotted in Chicago he is wearing something Chicago-related, whether it’s a Bears hat, or more commonly one of the Cubs. Shaw was born and raised near Toronto, and so has every excuse to wear Raptors or Blue Jays gear, but he dons the colors of his adopted city. And that speaks also to his character.
When Patrick Kane visited the Bears last season, Andrew Shaw was there with him, holding the ball while Kane kicked it through the uprights. He’s the guy who’s always there, but allowing the bigger stars the spotlight. Now that those big stars should perhaps step back, Shaw should be the one stepping forward.
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Shaw’s biggest controversy came this year when, after getting sent to the penalty box, he said something he shouldn’t have in the form of a homophobic slur accompanied by a rude gesture towards an official. In addition to a fine, Shaw faced a game suspension and was sent to sensitivity training. When he stepped forward to apologize, it was written on his face that this was not a man forced into doing this but one that actually meant what he was saying.
Shaw’s biggest flaw in his game has always been stupid penalties. Whether its heated fights, emotions tend to get the best of him. Perhaps that’s why Stan Bowman has taken so long in re-signing him. Besides the salary cap, that’s the only problem Shaw has ever been.
If he could take a page out of Jonathon Toews’s usual playbook and keep a cool demeanor, Shaw’s one problem would be fixed. He would be a perfect third-liner for the Blackhawks – the obedient foot soldier, a wing capable of forty points a season serving on a line getting less ice time.
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But perhaps emotion is something that is, again, needed on the Blackhawks. Out of Kane, Toews, and Panarin, perhaps the Blackhawks’ biggest three stars, you will never get anything but a blank face saying the same blanket lines. Out of Shaw you get jokes, you get someone not toeing the company line, something genuine.
You also get loyalty, not only to the system the team plays, but to the city. To the team, the coach, the players. Shaw is a personality that should be around the Blackhawks for years to come, so why hasn’t he been extended?
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Shaw’s impact has been stated again and again. When asked who the biggest mouth on the team is, the universal answer is Shaw. He’s someone trying to get the team going, the motor mouth keeping everyone relaxed in times of stress, the goofball who won’t shut up.
He’s someone that the city of Chicago can relate to. He’s the grinder, the guy who puts in all the effort, and remains unsung. He’s the fan favorite who is the most likely to get a Gordie Howe hat-trick – an assist, a goal, and a fight. He’s the nose to the grindstone worker, but when the job is done, he’s the guy cracking wise, the guy with the biggest smile and the friendliest attitude, the guy who’s good with kids and keeps good company.
In all these ways, he’s representative of the city of Chicago, down to the temper. When he was the one guy beating Brian Elliot, it was because his game is unpredictable, just like just about anything Chicago has to offer. His goals are hand-made like the pizza Chicago adores. They’re earned like the paystubs were when the city was re-building.
Andrew Shaw should be Chicago’s Batman. Keeping our hockey players safe.
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In the playoffs, and given the proper amount of time to play, Shaw has always approached ten points. When the team played 23 games after April in both 2012-2013 and 2014-2015, both years the Blackhawks won the Cup while Shaw was with the team, he tallied five goals. The number of assists fluctuated depending on who was his linemates – in 2013 it was Brandon Saad and Viktor Stalberg and Shaw had 4 assists. While with Marcus Kruger and Desjardins throughout much of the playoffs last year, he tallied 7, and earned his career high in postseason points. With 6 this year, had the team continued on he surely would have beat it.
He won the first game in the 2013 cup for the Blackhawks, having skated for what amounted to two games, the team was on it’s last legs. And Shaw used his to deflect a shot into the net of Tuukka Rask. In 2015, facing the same dilemma, Shaw attempted to use his head in what remains the greatest no-goal in the history of hockey. That header would give the Blackhawks all the momentum in that third overtime, and lead to Kruger getting the actual GWG, with help from Shaw.
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In his exit interview this year, Andrew Shaw sounded hopeful. Saying “I want to be back here, and I think they want me back here”. He voiced his trust of both his GM and his agent, and unlike the false promises of Brandon Saad, I think Andrew Shaw is willing to take whatever pay cut staying on this team means, because in the long run, Shaw should be rewarded with a contract akin to what Marcus Kruger will be receiving the next three years.
When asked about Saad, Shaw said “I’ve been here five years. I’ve made this place my home”. In fact, he has tweeted recently that he’s completing renovations on his house in Chicago. He’s being patient. But staying is something he clearly expects to do.
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Andrew Shaw’s replacement on the Blackhawks would be former first round pick and current Rockford Ice Hog Ryan Hartman. As a top six wing in Rockford, Hartman has equaled what Shaw has done in Chicago as a bottom 6. This year, as Shaw posted 34 points, 14 goals and 20 assists, Hartman posted just one more, 35 points, with the extra point being one more goal over Shaw. In the minors, Hartman has never reached Shaw’s career best 39 points.
While Shaw has the benefit of pro-level help on achieving his points, Hartman has the advantage of decreased competition and more ice time. Shaw has been the quintessential role player for the Hawks, and it has yet to be proven that Hartman can provide the same.
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Shaw seems like a guy settling in for the long haul for the city of Chicago. The question of his staying now lays solely with Stan Bowman, and its on his shoulders to work with Shaw and with the cap to keep him. The fans should want a deal done. Shaw wants a deal done. So Stan Bowman, consider this a formal plea to get a freakin’ deal done.