The Chicago Blackhawks officially announced Tuesday that they’re heading into a rebuild, in case the decisions to trade Brandon Saad and let Corey Crawford leave in free agency weren’t enough clues.
The organization sent a letter to fans saying it is committed to “developing young players and rebuilding our roster” and promising to “communicate openly with you on this journey together.”
General manager Stan Bowman then launched a media tour of “exclusive” interviews with various outlets, in which he revealed that he spoke with the four remaining stars of the Stanley Cup-winning teams: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.
In an interview with the team’s broadcast outlet, NBC Sports Chicago, Bowman said he explained to the four that he wants to “build more depth to make it easier on them.”
“As much as it might be hard for them to understand, I think as we discussed it more and more and explained it, I think they understand what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said.
That may be true, though after the Hawks let Crawford leave, Toews told The Athletic: “I’ve never been told that we were going through a rebuild. That has never been communicated to me, for that matter. A lot of this comes as a shock because it’s a completely different direction than we expected.”
Well, now he knows.
Thanks for the three Cups, Captain, and good luck playing out the rest of your career in Chicago without a shot at another.
When teams go into rebuilding mode, the first thing they usually do is trade their biggest stars for prospects, as the Bulls did with Jimmy Butler and the White Sox did with Chris Sale.
The Cubs’ biggest star when President Theo Epstein came to town in 2011 was Alfonso Soriano, who was untradable without eating a lot of money because of his massive contract and declining talent.
Seabrook’s contract, like Soriano’s, is unmovable, so he has little choice but to go through with the plan and hope for the best.
But Kane, Toews and Keith could waive their no-movement clauses for the right destination if they decided it wasn’t in their best interest to spend the next few seasons trying to compete without a proven goaltender and surrounded by a bunch of kids.
If any of them does want out, Bowman should do everything possible to try to make them happy. They’ve given everything they’ve had to the Hawks, and no three players are more responsible for making this one of the most successful franchises in sports during their careers.
It’s hard to imagine going to the United Center without seeing them, but they deserve a chance to win somewhere if they so desire. No one would fault them if they do.
Since the Nashville Predators swept the Hawks in the first round of the 2017 playoffs after the Hawks finished first in the Central Division, it has been all downhill. They made the postseason this year only because the NHL came up with a new format after the restart that included the Hawks and Montreal Canadiens, two Original Six teams that draw eyeballs to TV sets across the U.S. and Canada.
Bowman is mostly responsible for that regression, which is why he’s so unpopular in spite of running the team during its golden age. Trading Artemi Panarin, handing Seabrook an eight-year, $55 million contract extension, failing to build through the draft and bringing back popular but unnecessary players such as Patrick Sharp and Andrew Shaw for sentimental reasons are among his most glaring mistakes.
Still, he’ll get an opportunity to put things back together because he has the trust of Chairman Rocky Wirtz and interim President Danny Wirtz.
Bowman has some quality pieces in Kirby Dach, Dominik Kubalik and Alex DeBrincat, while defenseman Nikita Zadorov, brought over from the Colorado Avalanche in the Saad deal, has potential.
But without an experienced goaltender, it will be a long slog to respectability. It’s clearly going to take a few years to be a real contender, even if Kane and Toews are around and still in their prime.
You have to feel for Kane, Toews and Keith. Not only are they headed into a season with no starting date and no commitment to allowing fans into stadiums, but now they’re expected to help sell the rebuild to a skeptical fan base.
And we still don’t know what we have in Jeremy Colliton, who replaced Joel Quenneville 15 games into the 2018-19 season. Maybe he’s the perfect coach to develop the young players, or maybe he’s the Hawks’ version of Rick Renteria, a coat holder until the rebuild turns a corner and a bigger and better name is available to take them to Point C.
Rebuilds can work, as we’ve seen with the Cubs and are seeing with the White Sox.
But it takes plenty of patience, and it helps if the blueprint is the right one and fans have confidence in the architect.
Is this the right plan, and is Bowman the right guy?
The Hawks better hope so.
