diff --git a/lib/ClusterShell/Task.py b/lib/ClusterShell/Task.py
index fd0a2806..85fc5f80 100644
--- a/lib/ClusterShell/Task.py
+++ b/lib/ClusterShell/Task.py
@@ -577,7 +577,7 @@ def shell(self, command, **kwargs):
         >>> task.resume()
         """
 
-        handler = kwargs.get("handler", None)
+        handler = kwargs.get("handler", EventHandler())
         timeo = kwargs.get("timeout", None)
         autoclose = kwargs.get("autoclose", False)
         stderr = kwargs.get("stderr", self.default("stderr"))