Stan the Man?
Posted 3:22 PM ET | Comments 0
Let’s face it. The last two years as a Blackhawks fan have been extreme disappointments. With two first round exits in the playoffs, and the stress of barely sneaking in thanks to a Dallas loss; fans are at the point of wonder as to what direction this team is headed. All off season (prior to the suspension of play) rumors circulated of the acquisition of a superstar from Parise to Shane Doan. Nothing obviously came to fruition as another free agency period came and went without a superstar headed to the Windy City. As the competitive nature of the NHL continues to be a dog eat dog world, it seems that the Hawks are the ones slowly becoming the chew toys for the rest of the league.
GM Scotty Bowman has been on record saying that he likes the roster that he has in place, and it is obvious that the future management of the salary cap is what he is looking at. Bowman is smart enough to understand that signing a free agent superstar is paying for future returns and not past performance, and hence why signing a name to appease its fan base isn’t a solution to a Stanley Cup run. So the solution should come from the careful observation and evaluation of young talent.
Yet, sustained success in professional sports, as is true for any sports team, is built through the draft. Watching the Detroit Red Wings throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s gave strong evidence on how drafting elite hockey talent when available can make or break a franchise. The Hawks were great in their selection of Toews and Kane. Who can argue the production of the two All-Stars? Yet, where have the picks been since then? Where have the 30 goal scorers come from? Where are the perennial defensemen that are going to send this Blackhawks team into the next direction of consistent top 3 conference finishes? You want a couple names since Patrick Kane was selected in the 2007 entry level draft?
1. Ben Smith
2. Marcus Krueger
3. Brandon Pirri
4. Dylan Olsen
5. Brandon Sadd
6. Andrew Shaw
What does this indicate? None of these names “wow” you statistically, and other than Sadd, none have been mentioned frequently in trade rumors, star potential, or big game consistency. Through 36 selections in the entry level draft after drafting Patrick Kane, only the 6 players listed above have received a sniff at NHL ice time. Of the six players only Marcus Krueger, Ben Smith, and Andrew Shaw have played 20 or more games with the other three having a combined total of 27 games of NHL ice time. To give you an idea of how poor the entry level drafting has been during the Bowman era as GM, simply look at 2004 and 2005 entry level draft during Dale Tallon GM stint. 7 players have played in 100 NHL games or more including players such as Dustin Byfuglien and Cam Barker. That is just two entry drafts where solid NHL players have been produced from key evaluations and scouting by former GM Dale Tallon and his staff.
The truth is that this Hawks team that has a “great roster,” is lacking quality talent. Obviously this team gets by with its superstars, and competes on a nightly basis because you have a Toews , Kane, and Hossa. Where is the rest the talent on this roster? Bowman has a name that we like (thanks Dad), but seems to be lacking a systematic high quality approach in evaluating NHL ready or soon to be ready NHL ability.
To take it a step further we can look at the free agent acquisitions and trades that he has made as his run as GM. The major moves that Bowman has made since becoming GM was a trade for Michael Frolik and the trade for Johnny Oduya. Frolik received an extension recently that was based on the evaluated potential as a goal scorer and puck facilitator. Yet, once again his numbers don’t add up for the money he is making, 2.3 million,in 2013. To put it bluntly, Frolik had 5 goals and 10 assists last year in 63 games played. In comparison Brandon Sutter for the Pittsburg Penguins had 17 goals and 15 assists while making 2.03 million dollars, former Hawk Adam Burish had 6 goals and 13 assists while making less than 1.3 million for the Dallas Stars, and lastly Martin Hanzal of the Coyotes makes 2.1 million scoring 8 goals and 26 assists during the regular season. The talent evaluation is mismanaged and misevaluated by Bowman and his staff.
I hope I’m wrong about Stan Bowman. I hope that his knowledge of the game and ability to evaluate talent is above par, and this Hawks team will have a year full of break out talent and wins. Yet, the personnel that have been put on the ice so far are a clear indication of why this Hawks team has been mediocre. I just pray that this season I am not holding my breath hoping another NHL team’s loss allows the Hawks into the playoffs.
GM Scotty Bowman has been on record saying that he likes the roster that he has in place, and it is obvious that the future management of the salary cap is what he is looking at. Bowman is smart enough to understand that signing a free agent superstar is paying for future returns and not past performance, and hence why signing a name to appease its fan base isn’t a solution to a Stanley Cup run. So the solution should come from the careful observation and evaluation of young talent.
Yet, sustained success in professional sports, as is true for any sports team, is built through the draft. Watching the Detroit Red Wings throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s gave strong evidence on how drafting elite hockey talent when available can make or break a franchise. The Hawks were great in their selection of Toews and Kane. Who can argue the production of the two All-Stars? Yet, where have the picks been since then? Where have the 30 goal scorers come from? Where are the perennial defensemen that are going to send this Blackhawks team into the next direction of consistent top 3 conference finishes? You want a couple names since Patrick Kane was selected in the 2007 entry level draft?
1. Ben Smith
2. Marcus Krueger
3. Brandon Pirri
4. Dylan Olsen
5. Brandon Sadd
6. Andrew Shaw
What does this indicate? None of these names “wow” you statistically, and other than Sadd, none have been mentioned frequently in trade rumors, star potential, or big game consistency. Through 36 selections in the entry level draft after drafting Patrick Kane, only the 6 players listed above have received a sniff at NHL ice time. Of the six players only Marcus Krueger, Ben Smith, and Andrew Shaw have played 20 or more games with the other three having a combined total of 27 games of NHL ice time. To give you an idea of how poor the entry level drafting has been during the Bowman era as GM, simply look at 2004 and 2005 entry level draft during Dale Tallon GM stint. 7 players have played in 100 NHL games or more including players such as Dustin Byfuglien and Cam Barker. That is just two entry drafts where solid NHL players have been produced from key evaluations and scouting by former GM Dale Tallon and his staff.
The truth is that this Hawks team that has a “great roster,” is lacking quality talent. Obviously this team gets by with its superstars, and competes on a nightly basis because you have a Toews , Kane, and Hossa. Where is the rest the talent on this roster? Bowman has a name that we like (thanks Dad), but seems to be lacking a systematic high quality approach in evaluating NHL ready or soon to be ready NHL ability.
To take it a step further we can look at the free agent acquisitions and trades that he has made as his run as GM. The major moves that Bowman has made since becoming GM was a trade for Michael Frolik and the trade for Johnny Oduya. Frolik received an extension recently that was based on the evaluated potential as a goal scorer and puck facilitator. Yet, once again his numbers don’t add up for the money he is making, 2.3 million,in 2013. To put it bluntly, Frolik had 5 goals and 10 assists last year in 63 games played. In comparison Brandon Sutter for the Pittsburg Penguins had 17 goals and 15 assists while making 2.03 million dollars, former Hawk Adam Burish had 6 goals and 13 assists while making less than 1.3 million for the Dallas Stars, and lastly Martin Hanzal of the Coyotes makes 2.1 million scoring 8 goals and 26 assists during the regular season. The talent evaluation is mismanaged and misevaluated by Bowman and his staff.
I hope I’m wrong about Stan Bowman. I hope that his knowledge of the game and ability to evaluate talent is above par, and this Hawks team will have a year full of break out talent and wins. Yet, the personnel that have been put on the ice so far are a clear indication of why this Hawks team has been mediocre. I just pray that this season I am not holding my breath hoping another NHL team’s loss allows the Hawks into the playoffs.