A couple of points regarding the Shaw trade:
1. The arguments that he had good chemistry with Domi has probably more to do with the fact that Domi is there than Shaw. Drouin also had good chemistry with Domi. I bet the guy who is going to replace Shaw on that line with Domi will also have good chemistry with him...
2. We can't have it all. Shaw would likely have helped us this year, but we have young star prospects that need to play to get better. Are we going to tell Poehling to go spend some time in the AHL when he was the MVP of the U20, and he scores three goals in his first game in the league playing less than 15 minutes? Are we going to tell the MVP of the OHL playoffs that he is not ready to play in the NHL? What Suzuki did in term of impact on the playoff games was similar to what current star players in the league did when they played in the OHL playoffs. I am on the wrong side of 40 and I can't remember the last time we had such exciting prospects in the organization, at every position. However, I do remember many fans complaining in the past that we are not giving enough playing time and responsibilities to our young players. It looks like the Habs are willing to do this now, at least with KK, Poehling, Suzuki, and probably Caufield next year. Why not give this strategy a chance? We have a good idea of what Shaw would have provided. We might be pleasantry surprised by what Suzuki and Poehling can provide. We had the worst powerplay in the league last year. I would think that Suzuki will have a greater impact on the PP than Shaw ever will.
3. If Suzuki or Poehling do not adequately replace Shaw this year (which I doubt), you can bet that Caufield will next year. Caufield is a can't miss prospects IMO. He will be a right-handed scoring machine on the top 6 by the end of next season (2020-2021).