Becoming the Most Hated Man in Two Minutes
in Game Six of the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 24, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts.
He’s gritty and a grinder. People, especially the ladies, loved him. Coach Joel Quenneville loved him. Andrew Shaw was a throwback, imagine that pesky little kid from school that would get tease you, pester you, then once he pushed you to the point that you would retaliate, he runs away cowering with his tail between his legs.
That is the player that made Chicago Blackhawks fans fall in love with him. Sure there was a stupid penalty from time-to-time, but Shaw would typically be the reason for another team’s top forward to become unraveled at the end of a game, and take a costly penalty.
He wasn’t just an instigator though. He was the guy that would plop himself in front of a goalie when no one else would. The man who was willing to play bigger than himself in some of the most crucial minutes of a game.
This is why the unraveling of Andrew Shaw in Game 4 of the Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues series is so troublesome. This is the guy that made others implode, yet there Shaw was, imploding in front of the hockey world with two minutes left in a one goal game. Imploding when he was having the best game of his season.
That is when it happened. The now homophobic slur heard (heard in the sense that you lip read it) round the NHL. We earlier told you how the Blackhawks had just partnered with You Can Play which is an organization dedicated to removing homophobia in sports, and they cannot be all that happy with Shaw’s actions.
The team had always been in the good graces of the LGBT community, Brent Sopel had even brought the Stanley Cup to the Pride Parade in 2010. With one moment, Shaw may have torn the bridges down.
Shaw also clearly yelled gay slurs at the ref in the box. Nice. pic.twitter.com/FqV3cGdsh4
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 20, 2016
This is by far the worse infraction Shaw was guilty of, and it landed him a one game suspension, a $5,000 fine, and he must undergo sensitivity training.
There was more though. After taking that penalty with just over two minutes left in the game, Shaw proceeded to skate to the box flipping the refs off with his gloves still on.
Andrew Shaw flipped a ref the double bird on his way to the box pic.twitter.com/NLAYnXYpsj
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 20, 2016
I get it, you are in the heat of the moment and you realized that you messed up by coming to the net, late, and still felt necessary to hit someone from behind. You are mad because this is a play that happens time and time again with no penalties. But you, a player who has made several deep playoff runs and have your name etched on Lord Stanley’s cup need to realize that after the Corey Crawford tussle, the refs are no longer giving the benefit of the doubt. It was a stupid penalty at the worst of times.
This is exactly where the bad Andrew Shaw comes into play. We have loved the guy for five seasons. We have loved you for plays like this.
He keeps getting back up, he keeps fighting when the other guy is bigger and better than he is. But he keeps doing the stupid shit that finds him in the box at inopportune times for his team, and this time it may have cost the Blackhawks their season.
What is more, this could possibly be the last impression the Blackhawks and their fans have of Andrew Shaw. With the one game suspension, if the Blue beat Chicago on Thursday night it would of course end their season, which undoubtedly would end Shaw’s time in Chicago.
With Shaw already figuring to be a salary cap casualty this coming offseason, these playoffs are likely to be his last go around in the Indian head. It would be a damn shame if the last impression is one of him doing what he’s gotten so many others to do before.
Harvey Dent had a great quote in The Dark Knight, “You either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain.” Shaw may have just lived long enough to become the villain.
From dumb penalty to vile comments, Shaw’s lovefest with Chicago will certainly end in an ugly divorce. While Shaw said everything right when he faced the media on Wednesday, there is actually more evidence showing that he is exactly this guy that imploded during a playoff game on Tuesday night.
“I wanted to apologize for my actions — I have no excuses for anything,” Shaw said Wednesday at O’Hare before the Hawks boarded their charter flight for St. Louis, where they will face the Blues in Game 5 of their Western Conference quarterfinals series Thursday night. “I want to apologize to the gay and lesbian community. That’s not the type of guy I am.”
Maybe not… but perception is reality.
