Stan Bowman, Stop Trading For Former Blackhawks’ Players

This past week, Stan Bowman traded Dylan Sikura for former Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Pirri. This isn’t the first time he’s traded for an old player.

At one point in time, Brandon Pirri was a Chicago Blackhawks‘ prospect that was expected to be a solid depth player who could add to an already stacked roster. Pirri, a second-round pick, was never really given the chance, as he played in just 35-games with the team before he was traded to the Panthers.

This isn’t the first player that Chicago has drafted, just for him to be traded before playing a full season. They’ve done that to too many players, most recently Henri Jokiharju, who played just 38-games with the team.

Jokiharju was drafted in 2017 by the Blackhawks, with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews announcing his name on draft night. What a start to your career!

Jokiharju had high aspirations and was picked to hopefully add to an aging defense as one of their next big stars. He didn’t show enough for the team during his rookie season, so instead of giving him a second year with the team, they traded him for Alex Nylander.

The old Stan Bowman used to trade prospects, such as Jokiharju to teams rebuilding, for aging veterans who could add an extra boost to a team close to winning the Stanley Cup. At one point, Bowman would bring in former Blackhawks, with names like Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd, making returns. Brian Campbell, Patrick Sharp, Brandon Saad, and Johnny Oduya were also players on that list.

If a player helped the Hawks win at least one Stanley Cup, there was a chance Bowman would try to trade for that player. No matter how old or how significant they were, there was a chance.

In this case, they’re getting Pirri when he’s 29-years-old. That isn’t too bad. They’re still reverting to those old habits that haven’t always worked. Trading a young player without giving him a real shot for a player who has played in the organization before. In this case, we don’t know what Pirri can do.

This is one of the final straws in bad Bowman trades. If Pirri doesn’t pan out or play for the Blackhawks next season, it’s another poor trade. There has to be a point where Rocky Wirtz and other front office personnel will step in and do something. I’m surprised that hasn’t happened yet.

This old notion of doing this hasn’t worked yet, and it won’t work again this time. Most of the time, they get rid of a prospect that was highly touted and ends up making a big impact on a different team. Some of the names of those players who are stars for other teams just make me scratch my head when I see these trades.

At the end of all of this, Bowman has to stop trading for former players. If you want them so bad, don’t trade them in the first place. He’s giving up prospects for older players. It frustrates fans and doesn’t help the team at all. If anything, it is part of the reason why they’ve struggled the past few seasons. It’s finally caught up with them.