Chicago Blackhawks’ New Franchise Core Slowly Falling Into Place

Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has been laying out his blueprint for the team’s future core, and we’re slowly seeing it come to fruition

The Chicago Blackhawks clinched their ninth straight Stanley Cup Playoffs berth after defeating the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. The Blackhawks have not missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the 2008-09 season. Outside of that campaign, the Blackhawks’ front office has been guided by general manager Stan Bowman.

Bowman took over the reigns of the franchise on July 14, 2009, from Dale Tallon and hasn’t looked back since. While Bowman’s accomplishments — i.e. three Stanley Cups and the third-longest current playoff streak in the NHL behind the Penguins and Red Wings (soon to be ending) — are nothing to scoff at, they always had a feeling of winning with borrowed parts. Like when a new college football coach takes over a team with the former coach’s recruits and wins right away.

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Bowman has worked salary cap magic, but as far a bringing in talent to succeed, most credit goes to the work of Tallon. Most credit.

For instance, when Bowman took over as general manager on July 14, 2009, look at who was part of the NHL roster or already in the Blackhawks system:

• Jonathan Toews (drafted 2006)
• Patrick Kane (drafted 2007)
• Duncan Keith (drafted 2002)
• Brent Seabrook (drafted 2003)
• Niklas Hjalmarsson (drafted 2005)
• Marcus Kruger (drafted 2009)
• Patrick Sharp (acquired December 5, 2005)
• Dustin Byfuglien (drafted 2003)
• Corey Crawford (drafted 2003)
• Marian Hossa (signed July 1, 2009)
• Brian Campbell (signed July 1, 2008)
• Kris Versteeg (acquired February 3, 2007)

That list comprises the current Blackhawks core in their current run of success and the cornerstones of their modern dynasty. In the near decade that Chicago has held on to a spot at the top of the NHL, only four teams have won the Stanley Cup (Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh). Outside of the Blackhawks and Penguins, the Bruins and Kings have had success, but not at the level of the preceding two franchises.

Give credit where credit is due to Bowman. Managing the talent that he inherited is not easy, and to sustain that level of success is highly commendable. But the real test of a good general manager is to sustain success and bring in his/her own players to add to the franchise to continue that success.

Looking at some of Bowman’s moves

An area where Bowman has struggled has been youth development and young talent acquisition. His drafting history has been checkered at best since taking over.

Taking a look at Bowman’s drafts, you can see that prior to 2013, the misses have vastly outweighed the hits.

Bowman’s draft classes (2010-present; *—currently signed to CHI contract)

2011

–

Mark McNeill

,

Phillip Danault

,

Adam Clendening

,

Brandon Saad

,

Michael Paliotta

,

Klas Dahlbeck

,

Maxim Shalunov

,

Andrew Shaw

,

Sam Jardine

,

Alex Broadhurst

,

Johan Mattsson

• The 2011 draft class had so much potential for Chicago, but only Shaw and Saad came out of the fray as real contributors to the Blackhawks. On the flip side, Danault, Clendening and Shalunov have made strides professionally as of late.

2014

–

Nick Schmaltz

*,

Matt Iacopelli

,

Beau Starrett

,

Fredrik Olofsson

,

Luc Snuggerud

*,

Anderas Soderberg

,

Dylan Sikura

,

Ivan Nalimov

,

Jack Ramsey

• A largely unproven class from 2014 has a load of potential and is headlined by this year’s rookie standout in Schmaltz.

It was a rough start for Bowman, but his draft classes have improved over the years, and building for the future has seen more success than in previous years as the age and wear and tear on the Blackhawks’ current core begins to take its toll.

But it’s not just through drafting and developing that Bowman has begun to re-tool the core of the Blackhawks. Through trades and signings, Bowman has brought in fresh, talented players to add to the blueprint for the future of the Blackhawks.

Players like Tanner Kero, Alexandre Fortin and Gustav Forsling were all undrafted signings the franchise made to add youth, depth and skill to the organization. Forsling and Kero have already made an impact at the NHL level, while Fortin, along with recent junior signing Matthew Highmore, have been impressive in their time in the QMJHL and look to make the jump to the professional ranks next season.

Youth movement necessary for Chicago

While drafting well and making sure development of young talent is a priority for all professional teams, the Blackhawks needed it desperately over the past few seasons. While the current core was instrumental in bringing home the Stanley Cup in 2015, the 2016 campaign was a grind that ultimately ended in the first round against the St. Louis Blues.

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The seven-game series with St. Louis was a microcosm of what was going well and what was going wrong with the Blackhawks at the end of 2016. Veteran players were slowing down and youthful talent and fresh legs were not in abundance. Lack of depth caused holes in both the offensive and defensive sides for Chicago, and the long offseason became a blessing in disguise.

Over the summer, Bowman and Joel Quenneville made it known that an investment in the franchise’s youth was necessary and coming. Opening night for the Blackhawks saw six NHL rookies taking the ice with Motte, Hinostroza, Schmaltz, Hartman, Forsling and Michal Kempny suiting up.

The investment has paid off during the 2016-17 campaign. While Hartman, Schmaltz and to a slightly lesser degree Kempny and Hinostroza have made the most impact throughout the entire season, all six opening-night rookies have made an impact during different points.

As far as scoring goes for the Blackhawks’ rookie class, Hartman and Schmaltz highlight the offense by ranking ninth and 10th on the Blackhawks in points this season, and both rank inside the top 25 of all rookie scoring in the NHL.

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While Quenneville has the rap for not giving young players enough time or enough leash to make their strides in the NHL, he has, to his credit, given some promising rookies their due. Saad, Shaw, Teravainen and Crawford are all examples of rookies during the Q era who have been given a fair shake in their rookie seasons.

It’s hard to continually churn out NHL-ready rookies every year, let alone have six in your starting lineup on opening night, but Quenneville has given each one his fair shake to make impressions and show that they have, or could have in the near future, staying power at the NHL level.

The payoff continues to grow for Quenneville and the Blackhawks as college signee Hayden joined the Blackhawks in mid-March and has yet to lose his spot on the top line with Toews and Richard Panik.

That will likely change once Artem Anisimov returns from injury and Schmaltz can return to the top-line left wing spot. But even then, there is no doubt that Hayden will be in consideration for a spot in the four-line rotation after the game he has shown in his short time with Chicago.