NHL Rumors: Blackhawks’ Andrew Shaw seeking $4.5 million annually
Restricted free agent forward Andrew Shaw of the Chicago Blackhawks could be putting his team in a difficult situation by reportedly wanting an average annual value of at least $4.5 million.
The Chicago Blackhawks, as they always do, will have a very complicated salary cap situation during the 2016 offseason. They have already moved out Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell to the Carolina Hurricanes in order to clear the cap space necessary to re-sign restricted free agent forward Andrew Shaw. However, he is asking for an average annual value that the Blackhawks might not be able to afford.
Source says Andrew Shaw is asking for at least $4.5 million AAV. Moving him might be more realistic than moving Kruger. FLA a possibility.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 24, 2016
Of course, Shaw and his agent are likely shooting for the stars because they know that the Blackhawks want to pay him much less than that. It’s likely that the two sides will meet in the middle because it’s hard to imagine that any good team would want to pay Shaw more than $4.5 million a year.
Shaw had 14 goals and a career high 20 assists for 34 points in 78 games during the 2015-16 regular season. He added four goals and two assists for six points in six playoff games. Shaw has been a very important member of the Blackhawks over the past three seasons with 27 points in his last 41 playoff games. In 322 career regular season games, Shaw has 137 points.
Chicago is starting to feel the ramifications of their success and keeping their players. The Blackhawks have done a great job navigating the salary cap since 2010, but their current situation might be their darkest one yet.
For more NHL coverage, check out our hub page.