When general manager Stan Bowman traded Andrew Shaw in the summer of 2016 to increase cap space, the Blackhawks lost a player whom former coach Joel Quenneville once called “irreplaceable.”
Shaw came onto the scene during the 2011-2012 season as a 20-year-old who had more energy on the ice than a child on a sugar high. He played aggressively and fearlessly. And that, along with his unforgettable triple-overtime goal off his shin in Game 1 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, quickly made him a fan favorite.
Three seasons since his departure, Shaw, who also won the Cup with the Hawks in 2015, is back. He’s smarter, more experienced and, well, older.
After being the youngest player on the team when he made his NHL debut Jan. 5, 2012, Shaw, 28, said it’s weird to be one of the older, more experienced players in the dressing room.
“It’s different,” Shaw said. “The young guys have lots of energy, so keeping up with them is obviously fun. But they look up to [the] older guys, so you have to make sure you’re on your game, make sure you’re prepared, make sure you’re playing consistent so they can see why you’ve been in the league for so long. I think [I’m] more of the role model, that’s for sure.”
Shaw uses his experiences to help the younger guys navigate the NHL. He talked about some of those life lessons, his best chirps and more in this week’s Chat Room.
Now that you’re one of the more experienced players on the team, how has your role changed?
Andrew Shaw: “[I’m] a little bit more of a leader. I think just show them that hard work can keep you in this league for a long time.”
What do you know now that you wish you would’ve known when you were 20 or 21?
AS: “A lot of things. Making sure you’re consistent in your play, stretching, taking advantage of our training staff, getting treatment whenever you need it. I think that would’ve been a lot better, for sure.”
Which one of the young guys has impressed you most?
AS: “I like [Alex] Nylander. I like how hard he skates, how hard he backchecks, even if he loses the puck. And as older guys or coaches, you get on guys if they’re turning pucks over in the neutral zone, and at some points he did and we’re holding him accountable. And he started making sure he got pucks in or if he did turn it over, he was working twice as hard to get the puck back.”
Who were you most excited to be reunited with when you came back to the Hawks this season?
AS: “Probably Jeff Thomas, JT. He’s our athletic therapist. We have a big man crush going on.”
Really?
AS: “Yeah. Make sure that gets in there.”
You’re known to be an instigator or enforcer on the ice. What are some tactics you use to get under your opponent’s skin?
AS: “Playing physical on everyone. On their ‘D,’ on their skill guys. I just think playing physical and going to the net and being aggressive really can annoy people shift after shift.”
Is there anything opponents do that immediately ticks you off?
AS: “No, not usually players. I mean, officials can tick me off.”
What’s the worst trash talk you’ve ever heard anyone say?
AS: “I don’t know.”
Dylan Strome: “That you can’t cook.”
AS: “Can’t cook? [Brushes Strome off.] Stuff we probably can’t say. I think it’s a little bit better now. I think my younger years you heard a lot more trash-talking. I think it’s a little different now.”
Most creative?
AS: “[Laughs.] You know when guys have big noses, they just say, ‘That guy’s got a nose for the net,’ or, ‘He can smoke a cigar in the shower.’ ”
Have any TV shows piqued your interest lately?
AS: “I just started ‘Peaky Blinders.’ It’s a show about a group of guys after the war who started to kind of take over gambling. It’s pretty cool, and it’s based back after World War II, I think.”
Do you consider yourself a gambler?
AS: “No, I like cards. But I’m not a sports gambler. I just play cards.”
If you could ask anyone in history a question, who and what would you ask?
DS: “These are hard questions.”
AS: “I know. Jeez. I’m not really a history guy. Maybe I call my grandfather. I never got to meet him, and I just want to know what my dad was like as a kid because he was always telling me I was such a pest of a kid. So I want to know what he was like as a kid.”
If you weren’t playing hockey, what would you be doing?
AS: “Probably working construction. My dad did it. And when I was probably 10 years old, I got dragged along to the job site and [he] made me work. And I enjoyed it, I did. Being around a group of guys is always fun.”
What do you do with your free time?
AS: “I have three dogs, so a lot of park visits. I have a daughter, so honestly there’s not much time left for me between my daughter, my wife, my dogs. But in the summer, I’m a guy who likes to spend a little time on the boat in the sun. I have a lake house, so I just like to go out, anchor down, listen to music and chill out.”
