Montreal Canadiens sign Andrew Shaw to six-year contract

The Montreal Canadiens have announced that they have signed two-time Stanley Cup champion Andrew Shaw to a six-year deal worth $3.9 million per season.

During the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft, the Montreal Canadiens traded two second round picks to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for restricted free agent forward Andrew Shaw. The Canadiens have announced that they have agreed to terms with Shaw on a six-year deal that will carry a cap hit of $3.9 million per season.

“We are very pleased to have agreed to a long-term deal with Andrew Shaw,” said Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, via NHL.com. “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.”

Shaw proved to be a reliable postseason player for the Blackhawks over the past two postseasons. He had 18 points in 29 playoff games for the Blackhawks over the past two playoffs, including 12 points during the Blackhawks Stanley Cup run in 2015. He was reportedly commanding at least an average annual value of $4.5 million with the Blackhawks. If those reports are true, the Canadiens got a nice deal out of it.

However, Shaw has never had success away from Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, and other Blackhawks teammates. He will need to prove that he was more than just a role player in Chicago to be worth the money for Canadiens.

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