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Report: Bickell, Teuvo trade means Blackhawks might re-sign Shaw

St. Louis Blues v Chicago Blackhawks - Game Six

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 23: Andrew Shaw #65 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates his third period goal against the St. Louis Blues in Game Six of the Western Conference First Round during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center on April 23, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Blues 6-3. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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No doubt about it, giving up Teuvo Tervainen to get rid of Bryan Bickell’s cap hit really stings the Chicago Blackhawks. Bickell himself describes Tervainen as “crazy skilled.”

GM Stan Bowman isn’t giving up a quality piece for nothing, though.

The Blackhawks have grown accustomed to making tough choices to keep the core together, and it sounds like management identified Andrew Shaw as a key member. The space cleared by that trade to Carolina might help Chicago retain the talented pass, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Update: Bowman commented on the matter.

Shaw brings a mixture of decent scoring ability and nuclear agitation to the table. It feels like he’s been a fixture in Chicago for ages, yet at 24, he’s still in his prime.

Still, the question is: Did the Blackhawks just clear Bickell’s cap space to make a similar mistake with Shaw, at least when it comes to being forced to part ways with Teravainen? Needless to say, plenty of ‘Hawks fans are unhappy.

Second City Hockey captures the mood of those who are upset:

From here, this all looks like a major miscalculation in asset management. GM Stan Bowman has overvalued Shaw relative to the more valuable asset in Teravainen, effectively giving up the latter in order to clear cap space for the former. It’s a clear decision to choose Shaw over Teuvo because the draft picks (or other assets) would’ve come Chicago’s way regardless, whether it was through this set of moves, trading Shaw or letting him sign an offer sheet. Now you’ll have to find a way to protect Shaw in the expansion draft, just as you would’ve with Teravainen.

Ouch. From the sound of things, this might be a decision that the Blackhawks will ultimately regret. Time will tell.