Andrew Shaw excited about fresh start with Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens added forward Andrew Shaw in a draft-day deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. The next step will be to get the pending restricted free agent signed to a deal.

A salary-cap casualty in Chicago, Shaw had a quick chat with Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin on Friday night. He added they'll likely talk again over the weekend.

"I signed my first deal with him, my entry-level, so I'm excited that we have that relationship already," Shaw said Saturday on a conference call. "I know my agent Pat [Brisson] and him are friends as well. So hopefully it helps things go smoothly. I'm sure it will.

"I'm just excited and waiting patiently, no rush obviously — they have the draft and everything this weekend and free agency coming up — so I'll just sit back and wait for that phone call."

'A character guy'

Bergevin, a former assistant GM in Chicago, said Friday that Shaw is a "character guy" who knows what it takes to win. Shaw was drafted by the Blackhawks in 2011 and won two Stanley Cups over five seasons in the Windy City.

"I've got a fresh start with a new team," Shaw said. "I'm excited about that. It's going to be fun. I'm excited to meet the guys on the team and get in that locker-room. But at the other end, obviously I'm going to miss all my friends and teammates in the organization and all the fans there in Chicago as well. Obviously I'll miss the city as well too."

Shaw had 14 goals and 20 assists in 78 regular-season games last season in the final year of his $4 million US, two-year contract. He added six points in six playoff games.

"I think we were pretty close to making a deal but obviously they have cap issues," Shaw said of the Blackhawks. "It's tough to get around, especially this time of year with the draft coming, free agency coming. It was tough, I thought we were close [to a deal]. I loved being in Chicago obviously, it's a second home to me. A lot of great memories there.

"I had some fun playing there. I had a lot of friends and family in that city. So I'm going to miss it dearly, that's for sure."

The Canadiens gave up a pair of second-round draft picks to acquire the 24-year-old native of Belleville, Ont.

"When it's all said and done, I'm happy," Shaw said. "I'm excited. I want to be a part of this. I'm three hours from home, which is pretty big for me and my family. So it should be a fun year."

Montreal also traded forward Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals on Friday for second-round draft picks in 2017 and 2018.