Bowman’s rebuilds keep Blackhawks at top
Chicago, with three Stanley Cups in six seasons, is ready to challenge again
CHICAGO— Stan Bowman’s chief strength as an NHL general manager is he knows how to disassemble a championship team, swap out parts and ratchet it back together again so it looks as good as new.
Bowman skillfully rebuilt the Chicago Blackhawks after their 2010 Stanley Cup championship, and did so again after the 2013 title. We won’t know whether Bowman’s latest rebuild has worked perfectly until the playoffs, but all early indications are that Bowman’s major tune-up has at least given the Blackhawks a good shot at winning again.
“I think our (start) has been very good,” Bowman said. “But the area we are working on is trying to get a little more balance.”
After winning their third Stanley Cup in six seasons, Bowman dealt with his salary cap issues by trading away young top-line winger Brandon Saad and proven scorer Patrick Sharp. He allowed key defenceman Johnny Oduya to ride away through free agency. Other depth players were also lost to free agency.
Yet despite losing key players in the off-season, the Blackhawks still started this week with the NHL’s fourth-best record.
Despite losing defenceman Duncan Keith for an extended period to injury earlier this season, the Blackhawks rank ninth in goals-against
average and 11th in offence. The Blackhawks are fourth in the NHL in power-play percentage and ninth in penalty killing.
“Our power play is probably better than it has been in the past six or seven years,” Bowman said. How Bowman has put the Blackhawks in position to make another title run:
New difference-maker: Rookie Artemi Panarin has been a gamechanger. He’s a smallish forward like Patrick Kane, and they play a similar style. He is replacing the lost offence in a dynamic way. This off-season signing was monumental.
Missing piece: Artem Anisimov, acquired in the Saad trade, is the big No. 2 centre the Blackhawks have been seeking for a couple of seasons. He is on a pace for 20 to 25 goals.
“He’s better than I thought he would be offensively,” Bowman said.
Anisimov plays with Kane and Panarin. “He does a lot of heavy lifting on that line,” Bowman said.
Replacing Oduya: Defenceman Trevor van Riemsdyk has been impressively efficient stepping into Chicago’s top four. Bowman calls him “workmanlike and effective.”
In his second NHL season, he’s averaging better than 20 minutes per game.
Bowman also acquired Trevor Daley this summer from the Dallas Stars, but it was clear early on that he didn’t fit into Chicago’s system. Bowman traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Rob Scuderi. Michal Rozsival, back from a broken leg, is also in the defensive mix.
Crawford steps up: The Blackhawks believe Corey Crawford has been underappreciated, and his numbers are even better than usual.
He already has five shutouts, and his goals-against average (2.16) and save percentage (.927) are better than last season’s numbers.
“If your goalies are strong and you
have a good defensive foundation, then you are in every game,” Bowman said.
Core players still performing at a
high level: Kane is having a career season, and Jonathan Toews is as effective as usual. Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson remain among the NHL’s most leakproof defensive trios.
Another skilled player, Teuvo Teravainen, could be en route to his first 20-goal season.
Because the Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup three times since 2010, they have earned the right not to sweat the small stuff. But Bowman would not allow them to get complacent.
We have to get in the playoffs,” Bowman said. “We don’t assume anything.”
The X factor is coach Joel Quenneville, who is unwavering about making sure new players fit into Chicago’s proven system.