The Montreal Canadiens are already having injury troubles for the 2018-19 season, and it is still months away. After announcing that Paul Byron would miss up to six months following shoulder surgery, the Canadiens today released news on Andrew Shaw. Shaw has undergone knee surgery and will also be out a minimum of six months, meaning he won’t be ready for the start of next season.
Shaw has struggled to stay healthy in a Montreal uniform, playing just 119 games in the two seasons since they acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks. GM Marc Bergevin sent two second-round picks to the Blackhawks for Shaw, citing his Stanley Cup pedigree as a big reason for the acquisition. He then handed him a six-year $23.4MM contract, that hasn’t yet paid off for the club.
Contributing just 22 goals and 49 points across two seasons, Shaw was also held scoreless in five playoff games last spring and couldn’t help the Canadiens reach the postseason this year. Though he has shown flashes of offensive potential, he hasn’t been a consistent enough contributor to the squad to make up for the initial cost. Luckily, he’ll have lots of time to turn that around as he’s still just 26-years old and under contract for four more seasons.
The Canadiens have a huge offseason in front of them, and some had suggested that Shaw was a potential buyout candidate to clear some extra room in order to go for a big fish (see: John Tavares) in free agency. That won’t be possible now with him injured, though it was unlikely anyway regardless of his disappointing season.