On Tuesday, we learned that the Chicago Blackhawks were listening to interest on a potential trade for froward Dylan Strome. And now today, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, we have learned that the Blackhawks are looking for a trade partner to off-load Andrew Shaw’s contract, as well.
From Seravalli and Scott Burnside, the topic comes up around the 11:40 mark:
The Daily Faceoff Show – Oct 14 featuring Frank Seravalli and Scott Burnside https://t.co/5mG1H04RUH
— DailyFaceoff.com Hockey (@DFOHockey) October 14, 2021
Shaw is not playing with the Blackhawks this season following his retirement in the Spring after dealing with post-concussion symptoms. He also has only one-year left on his current deal, with a $3.9M cap hit, which is currently sitting on Chicago’s LTIR. As Seravalli mentions, the actually salary for Shaw is not that much ($2.9M actual insured salary), but there are only a handful of teams that could use the cap space correctly in acquiring his contract, plus an asset from the Blackhawks. The New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres come to mind right away.
Chicago could possibly package Strome with the Shaw contract in a deal to avoid losing a future asset (like a third or fourth-round pick). At this point, draft capital may be more valuable to the Blackhawks than Strome is as a lineup scratch. If the Blackhawks were able to move Shaw’s deal, with or without an extra asset, they will have more cap flexibility once Caleb Jones returns to health and to the lineup. Chicago could be out of LTIR usage at that point, as well as under the salary cap and able to add at the trade deadline, should they be contenders.
We shall see if anything comes of this in the future. Meanwhile, Shaw is part of the NBC Sports Chicago broadcast team, so it would be amazing to have him on the broadcast to talk about the potential trade of his own contract away from the club.