Montreal Canadiens lock up Andrew Shaw to six-year $23.4M contract
The Montreal Canadiens have signed newly acquired forward Andrew Shaw to a six-year $23.4 million contract.
The Habs recently traded two 2016 second-round draft picks to the Chicago Blackhawks for Shaw.
According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, the deal is front-loaded but doesn’t have a no-trade clause or a no-move clause. Shaw is coming off a two-year $4 million contract.
“We are very pleased to have agreed to a long-term deal with Andrew Shaw. As I mentioned last Friday following his acquisition, we are adding a solid character player to our team, a reliable player who plays with grit and a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks over the past five seasons. Andrew will add more leadership to our team. I had the opportunity to discuss with him over the past few days, and I sense his determination and excitement in joining the Canadiens’ organization for many years to come,” said Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin in a statement provided by the team.
Shaw was the latest player the Blackhawks had to trade as part of their most recent salary cap purge. Earlier in the summer they dealt promising young forward Teuvo Teravainen to the Carolina Hurricanes in order to unload Bryan Bickell’s contract.
“I think we were pretty close, but they have cap issues and its tough to get around,” Shaw said after the trade. “It was tough. I thought we were close. I loved being in Chicago; it’s a second home to me. A lot of great memories there. I had a lot of friends and family in that city, so I’ll miss it dearly.”
The 24-year-old Shaw won two Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks and had 34 points in 78 games last season. He scored 20 goals in 2013-14. This past season Shaw held a 51.60, 5-on-5 score and venue adjusted CF% and a plus-0.17, 5-on-5 score and venue adjusted CF% Rel.
Last season, Montreal missed the postseason after starting the year 9-0-0.
The Habs have $8,662,501 in salary cap space according to General Fanager without any major restricted free agents to sign. Montreal reportedly is mulling making a run at pending unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos.
Bergevin scouted Shaw when Bergevin worked for the Blackhawks’ management and grew fond of the player.
“He likes the rat in me, the work ethic,” Shaw said. “He enjoys watching me play, and dealing with him on my first contract was exciting for me as well. I owe him a lot.”
According to the Montreal Gazette, Bergevin convinced the Blackhawks to pick Shaw in 2011 after the forward went through the draft twice.
“I saw him play one night in Owen Sound and he got into a fight with someone a lot bigger, it might have been Jarred Tinordi, and he won the fight,” Bergevin said “We’re not getting him to fight, but that’s an example of his willingness to do whatever it takes to win.”
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
