A Stan Bowman Performance Review Blog
In Stan Bowman’s end of season press conference he said that he had to be better. And you know what…he’s right. Stan Bowman was given the keys to the car when the Blackhawks fired former GM, Dale Tallon, back in July 2009. That season Stan Bowman took the Blackhawks to the first of their three Stanley Cup Championships. It’s been a hell of ride in the last 8 years for the Hawks. Stan has been widely praised across the internet and deservedly so because the Blackhawks have been one of the most successful teams of all-time with Stan steering the ship. If you’ve followed me at all over the past 3-4 years you’ve seen this gif
Of course Stan Bowman has been successful. He is, however, not infallible. And with another Salary Cap purge, the expansion draft, the NHL draft, and free agency coming, it’s time to take a look at what Stan’s performance over the last several years. Hindsight is always 20/20 and grading each individual trade is nearly impossible. So we are just going to give Stan a Pass of Fail grade on every major move made since 2013.
July 9th, 2014: Toews And Kane Sign Matching 8 year, $10.5M AAV Contracts
We’ll start with these contracts because they’re the cause of both the Blackhawks’ success and their troubles. Toews and Kane have been the highest paid players in the NHL and after back to back first round exits and players like Shaw, Leddy, Sharp, and Saad moving on people across the internet have become increasingly critical of these contracts, especially Toews’ deal. I think that’s unfair. Firstly, it’s always better to have guys like Toews and Kane than to be searching for them. These guys are sure-fire Hall Of Fame players and will have statues outside of the United Center when they’re done. When these deals were signed in July 2014, Toews and Kane deserved to be the highest paid players in the NHL. They already had their name on the Cup twice and a 3rd Cup was coming the following season. The faces of the franchise were in their mid-20s and while there was some shock value at the number, it was largely lauded as a fair deal for both sides.
Where things went haywire is that after the Blackhawks signed their two superstars, the NHL salary cap stayed largely flat. Since the advent of the salary cap in 2005-06, the league had seen the ceiling rise between $4 million and $6 million just about every years.
And with a new Canadian TV rights contract coming there was no reason to suspect that the cap wouldn’t continue to rise at that pace, or perhaps even rise more dramatically.
Instead, the NHL and specifically the Blackhawks, fell victim to something not many could foresee. Historically low crude oil prices, which dramatically impacted the Canadian dollar, which dramatically impacted the NHL’s bottom line. Seven of the NHL’s 30 teams are located in Canada. Those teams obviously take in revenue in $CAD, but pay players in $USD. Not a good formula for the NHL when the Canadian Dollar collapses. Instead of having a Salary Cap of $78-79 million last year the Blackhawks were forced to make due with two players accounting for almost 30% of the cap. If the Salary Cap had continued to rise as projected back in 2014 the Blackhawks would likely still have Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw. And perhaps another Stanley Cup as well.
You can criticize Stan Bowman for somethings, but you can’t criticize him for not being a global economist. Stan didn’t see how increased oil production from the US coincided with shrinking global demand for crude would negatively impact the Cap…sue him. It’s always better to have Toews and Kane than to not have them.
Grade: PASS
July 1, 2013: Bryan Bickell Signs 4 Year, $4M AAV Contract
Bryan Bickell was an absolute MONSTER in the 2013 playoffs. The Blackhawks won the Cup, he had the big goal that led to 17 seconds and a summer of ecstasy, and you could argue that Bickell was in the running for the Conn Smythe. He had finally become the dominant power-forward the Blackhawks had always hoped he’d be. And…he was rewarded with a 4 year contract worth $16 million. Like I said earlier, hindsight is always 20/20, but this is certainly one of those situations where the Blackhawks could’ve and probably should’ve pulled a Belichick and just let Bickell walk in free agency. They probably could’ve even traded his negotiating rights for an extra asset. $4M/year for a guy who had always frustrated fans and coaches with inconsistent effort and posted better than 15 goals just once in his career prior to that seemed like a lot at the time. I understand that maybe the team and Bowman thought the light switch finally turned on and that Bickell would reach his potential, but it never materialized. The ripple effect of that contract lasted for years. It obviously cost them Teravainen, who the Blackhawks had to package with Bickell just to get him off their books, but it also impacted their ability to eventually sign guys like Leddy, Saad, Shaw, etc. Just imagine an alternate universe where Bickell walked in 2013, and the money saved on that deal was applied to Nick Leddy’s expiring $2.7 AAV to get him to the $5.5M AAV he eventually signed with the Islanders. Then in 2015-16 Leddy graduates into a top 4 role vacated by Johnny Oduya’s expiring contract. All of a sudden the weakness of the Blackhawks blueline to skate and move the puck out of their own end is gone. They’re balanced between young and old and probably advance further in the playoffs than they have in recent years. Bickell was a solid player in the 2013-14 Western Conference Final run, but he was never an impact player again.
Grade: Fail
October 4th, 2014: Nick Leddy Traded To The Islanders For Pokka, TJ Brennan,
Obviously the Blackhawks got the bad end of this trade. There was never an instance where anyone thought the Blackhawks got a good deal with this one. As is a common theme in recent off-season trades, the Bowman was handcuffed by the Cap and got whatever he could get. Pokka hasn’t worked out to date, while Leddy has developed into a borderline all-star and legit top 4 defenseman. However, the Blackhawks are always in “win now mode”, and this trade, while not a good deal in the long term, allowed them to win the Stanley Cup in 2015. Would they be able to win the Cup with Leddy in their top 4 in 2015 instead of Oduya? I would say probably not. He wasn’t quite ready at that point. Obviously, in the grand scheme of things losing Nick Leddy for nothing is a failure, but in a vacuum the Hawks won their 3rd Cup and that’s all that really matters.
Grade: Pass
June 30th, 2015: Brandon Saad To CBJ for Anisimov, Morin, Dano, and Tropp
This one…stings. Brandon Saad didn’t have to be traded. He was a restricted free agent following the 2015 Stanley Cup and was only 22 years old at the time. An accomplished member of the team with two Stanley Cup rings and a staple of the top 6. Brandon Saad was one of the pillers for the future. The Toews and Kane deals were going to be on the books for the first time, the Cap didn’t go up and the Blackhawks were squeezed. When deal was announced everyone was kind of shocked, but we talked ourselves into the package. Anisimov and a nice young player named Marko Dano who could maybe do some of the things Saad was able to do. Then in the next instance it was announced that the Blackhawks signed Anisimov to a 5-year extension worth $4.55M AAV…aka only $1.5 less than what Saad signed for in Colombus AND gave him a No Trade Clause
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I get that Anisimov’s deal kicked in the following year when the Cap went up a bit and that the Blackhawks had been looking for a top 6 center basically since this run began, but come on. There must have been other, more creative ways to get Saad signed for that $6M AAV(or perhaps a bit less to stay in Chicago as was his stated desire even after the trade) than dealing him for Anisimov. Anisimov has been INCREDIBLY productive playing with Kane and Panarin. I understand the desire to strengthen the team up the middle, but the kicker is that the Blackhawks had won three Cups being stronger on the wings and weak at center. Find a way to keep the guy who is a future 30 goal scorer at 22 years old. If it means giving Sharp away for nothing instead of Trevor Daley(more on that in a bit), then so be it.
Grade: Fail
July 10th, 2015: Patrick Sharp and Stephen Johns to Dallas For Trevor Daley and Ryan Garbutt
The first true member of the Blackhawks “core” to be traded and there was no getting around it. Dallas and the rest of the NHL had the Hawks over a barrell and they knew it. Losing Patrick Sharp was tough enough, but also making the Hawks throw in Stephen Johns, a big body, right shot, physical dman who was NHL ready…puke city. Again, nothing the Hawks could do there, but maybe they should’ve sought a deal that didn’t require taking back more salary. Daley never really fit in Chicago and was dealt mid-season to Pittsburgh for a corpse formerly known as Rob Scuderi, and then Scuderi was later traded to LA for the corpse formerly known as Christian Erhoff. Garbutt was eventually placed on waivers and claimed by the Coyotes. The Blackhawks got nothing in return for Sharp except for some bad contracts that limited their flexibility. Again, Stan Bowman was in a virtually no-win situation, but when you saddle yourself with bad players and bad contracts when trading two valuable assets it’s tough to give this a passing grade regardless of the situation
Grade: Fail
September 26th, 2015: Brent Seabrook signs 8-year $55M extension($6.875M AAV)
I love Brent Seabrook. I think people are way too hard on him in Chicago and it’s largely because of his contract. What’s he supposed to do, negotiate against himself? Brian Campbell got the same criticism during his first stint in Chicago. You need guys like him on your team. He is a big body, he is a great teammate, he plays in all situations and logs important minutes. He’s obviously been a HUGE piece of this Dynasty puzzle. Having said all of that, signing a 31 year-old to an 8 year contract is bad business. If that’s what it was going to take to sign him then the Blackhawks needed to be prepared to walk away. I’m trying to look at all these trades and contracts in a vacuum, but it’s impossible not to connect this to the Saad-Anisimov trade/extension and the Patrick Sharp trade. How does Stan reconcile giving Seabrook and Anisimov, two guys over the age of 28, long-term deals worth a combined $11.4M per year and playing hardball on Saad who was 22 years-old and already a major contributor? It doesn’t make any sense. Even at the time of the signing it almost felt like Bowman was doing Seabrook a favor. Well before this deal Brent Seabrook had already received $42,327,200 in paychecks from the Blackhawks. He didn’t need any favors. With this deal his lifetime earnings will be just shy of $100M. ONE HUNDRED MILLION FOR BRENT SEABROOK. Again, I love the guy. I hope his #7 hangs from the rafters one day, but jesus christ…not worth that money now and certainly won’t be worth it in another 2-3 years. I want Seabrook on this team, but if he wanted 8 years of security then the Blackhawks should’ve been able to give him less AAV. Now the Blackhawks are once again in a position where they’ll be forced to give away a core player and leader for pennies on the dollar all because they overpaid during negotiations.
Grade: Fail
February 26th, 2016: Dano and a 1st Round pick for Andrew Ladd
Loved the trade when it went down, and even though the Blackhawks didn’t get out of the first round and Ladd left as a UFA, I still love the trade. The Blackhawks needed a top 6 LW and Ladd filled that role. He didn’t have a ton of success, but in theory it was a good trade a late first round pick plus a prospect who hasn’t really worked out for Winnipeg is a gamble worth taking every time.
Grade: Pass
February 26th, 2016: Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann for Philippe Danault and a 2nd rd pick
Oof. I am a big believer in trying to win now while you have a chance and worry about tomorrow…tomorrow. I wanted Dale Weise at the deadline, but losing Phillip Danault for those two rentals felt like a sideways move even at the time. Dale Weise didn’t pan out, but in theory he could’ve helped. Not sure, even at the time, that he was a better option than Danault. What makes matters worse is that Danault really turned into an important player for Montreal. Often centering their top line last season. Danault finished with 40 points in 82 games, he certainly could’ve helped the Blackhawks this past year.
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Grade: Fail
Richard Panik and Gustav Forsling Trades
HUGE credit to Stan Bowman here. In what appeared to be a couple of minor league deals at the time, Bowman acquired two guys who will be important pieces of the team going forward. Panik turned into a 20 goal scorer and a top 6 option, while Morin has yet to find an NHL home. Forsling looks like he will be a nice defenseman already at just 21 years-old. Panik re-signed already when he inked a deal for $2.8M AAV over the next two years. An offer that he “accepted right away. Didnt even have to think about it”. Probably not a good sign for the GM and his negotiating skills when the player and his agent can’t say yes fast enough.
Grades: Pass and Pass
June 24th, 2016: Andrew Shaw To Montreal for Two 2nd Round Picks(DeBrincat and Krys)
Tough to grade a trade when DeBrincat and Chad Krys have yet to play an NHL game, but on the surface this was a nice haul for Andrew Shaw. Shaw is another important piece to championship teams, but he’s a role player and luxury who was essentially replaced by Ryan Hartman this year. Ryan Hartman even out-produced Shaw. The Cap savings alone make this a good deal for the Blackhawks.
Grade: Pass
As I said in the opening paragraph, it’s easy to look back and say Stan should’ve done this or Stan should’ve done that, but at the end of the day the Blackhawks aren’t as strong as they could have been with a little better negotiating by Bowman. It’s not hard to envision an alternate universe where the Blackhawks could’ve had a team with Danault, Saad, Leddy, and Teravainen last year, instead of one with Anisimov. As it stands the Blackhawks will have to do some dancing again this off-season to get under the cap and it will likely cost the team another significant piece to do so. Overall, Stan is clearly one of the better GMs in the NHL. He’s done a great job of keeping this team in contention year after year despite getting handcuffed by a Salary Cap that has largely stayed flat. Bowman and the scouting department being able to identify, acquire, and develop guys like Panarin, Schmaltz, Hartman, Kero, and the like are a big reason why this team has never failed to reach the playoffs during his tenure as GM. I’m glad he’s the Blackhawks GM, but like he said himself, he has to be better going forward.