Five Recent Stan Bowman Moves That Are Now Helping The Blackhawks

2. Mattias Janmark contract – 2020 offseason

This past offseason has shaped the Blackhawks. Through all the moves, the team is now in a better position than they were a year ago today, and that includes adding Mattias Janmark.

Janmark signed a one-year deal with Chicago after going on his run to the Stanley Cup Final with the Dallas Stars. While Janmark was pretty much only a defensive forward for Dallas in the bottom six, he has done a lot more in Chicago.

One of the main reasons Janmark decided to sign with Chicago is that he could play in several different situations on a team that did not have a lot of depth. There was an opportunity that he could prove to be something more with this team, and he has risen to the occasion.

Janmark has 12 points so far this season, including seven goals. Chicago is lucky to have him around.

3. Not re-signing Corey Crawford during the 2020 offseason

The decision not to re-sign Corey Crawford this past offseason caused a lot of uproar amongst fans. Crawford has been with the team for a long time, and he helped get Chicago two Stanley Cups along the way. After all the hard work Crawford did for this team, seeing Stan Bowman let him walk away stung.

It did not help that Chicago was now going to lean on Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia, and Kevin Lankinen a year after Chicago had Lehner and Crawford. Going from those two elite goalies to three unproven net minders hurt, but now it seems like the right decision.

The ‘Hawks seem to have their next long-term franchise goalie in Kevin Lankinen. Lankinen has been playing a Calder Trophy caliber performance through the first half of the season, and hopefully, he only gets better with more time. Even Subban has grown on the fans as he has been great in the organization’s backup role.

If Bowman did not move on from Crawford, the ‘Hawks would still be a few years removed from finding a long-term starter in Chicago as Crawford did not have a lot much NHL time left in him.