Grading Stan Bowman At The Trade Deadline
Since taking over as general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2009–10 season, Stan Bowman has been involved in numerous trade deadline deals.
The goal at the deadline for the Blackhawks has always been adding for a Stanley Cup run, but this year looks different. Bowman said the team will likely not make a move this year, but with rumors of teams being interested in players like Artem Anisimov, Brandon Saad, and Ryan Hartman, there is the possibility for a trade.
Deadline deals can make or break a playoff run, and in the past we have seen Bowman add some key pieces that have helped lead the Hawks to their Stanley Cup victories.
Let’s take a look at some of Bowman’s best and worst trade deadline deals ahead of this years deadline:
The Best:
Feb. 2012: Blackhawks trade 2nd (2013) and 3rd (2013) round picks to the Winnipeg Jets for defenseman Johnny Oduya
This trade would become a major component of the teams 2013 and 2015 Stanley Cups. After adding Oduya, he and Niklas Hjalmarsson would become one of the best defensive pairings in the NHL. What started out as a rental for the Blackhawks turned into a four year top 4 defenseman involed in two Stanley Cup wins. Can’t argue with this trade at all.
Grade: A
Apr. 2013: Blackhawks trade 4th (2014) round pick to the San Jose Sharks for center Michal Handzus
One of the quieter deadline deals in the past, Handzus did not do much to get fans excited during the regular season. But when the playoffs came around, Handzus played great, putting up 11 points during the Blackhawks cup run. An unnecessary extension after the season hurts this deal a little, but with the Stanley Cup as the goal for any trade, the Blackhawks did alright.
Grade: B+
Feb. 2015: Blackhawks trade defenseman Klas Dhalbeck and a 1st (2015) round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for center Antione Vermette.
Vermette was another player whose regular season with the Blackhawks was not very encouraging, but his playoffs definitely were. With 7 points in 20 games and winning nearly 60% of his face-offs, he became a huge part of the 2015 Stanley Cup team. While giving up a 1st round pick always hurts, it was a necessary move that led to a Stanley Cup.
Grade: A
Mar. 2015: Blackhawks trade forward Ben Smith and a 7th (2016) round pick to the San Jose Sharks for forward Andrew Desjardins
Desjardins was nothing more than an addition to the bottom of the Blackhawks lineup, but played very well in that role, helping the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup. After being extended, the Blackhawks tried to force Desjardins into a role he was not suited for, hurting his play and eventually leading to sitting in the press box. But the trade did its job, and the Blackhawks essentially gave up nothing to get him.
Grade: B
The Meh:
Feb. 2010: Blackhawks trade Cam Barker to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman Kim Johnsson and defenseman Nick Leddy
While the Blackhawks did win this deal, overall it just wasn’t amazing. Johnsson barely played for the Blackhawks, and the team eventually got nothing for Leddy. Obviously Leddy’s impact in his 4 years was big, but the teams mismanagment of him and the return they got for him ultimately makes this deal nothing special.
Grade: C
Feb. 2017: Blackhawks trade center Mark McNiell and a 4th (2018) round pick to the Dallas Stars for defenseman Johnny Oduya
Making his second appearance on this list, the Blackhawks hoped they could find the magic from their 2012 deal again. It didn’t go as planned. Oduya did not make much of an impact, and the Blackhawks were swept in the first round of the playoffs. What keeps this from being a bad deal is the Hawks had to move McNiell before the deadline, and the team needed a defenseman like Oduya.
Grade: C
The Bad:
Feb. 2015: Blackhawks trade a 2nd (2015) round pick and a 2nd (2016) round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Kimmo Timonen
This move is nothing but bad by Bowman. Timonen did not play well for the Blackhawks at all, yet the team won a Stanley Cup anyway, and we all got that nice little moment with Timonen finally holding the Stanley Cup. The value in this trade was completely off, and not having second round picks two years in a row hurt the team.
Grade: D
Feb. 2016: Blackhawks trade defenseman Rob Scuderi to the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Christian Ehrhoff
There isnt much to really say about this deal. Bowman gave away Trevor Daley, who is far better than either of these two, for Scuderi, who was set to earn $3.3 million over the next two years. Then realizing it was a mistake, he flipped him for Ehrhoff, who was only making $1.5 million for the rest of the season. But the Blackhawks had to pay half of Scuderi’s cap hit for the following year. All in all, the Blackhawks only lost from this trade.
Grade F
Feb. 2016: Blackhawks trade forward Marko Dano, a 1st (2016) round pick, and a 3rd (2018) round pick to the Winnipeg Jets for forwards Andrew Ladd and Mark Fraser, and defenseman Jay Harrison
This one was rough. While Dano has not become anything, the Blackhawks gave up a first and third round pick with him for Ladd. Ladd showed next to nothing for the Hawks, and didn’t do anything to help the team in their short playoff run. The Jets paid have his salary that season and he left after the season. The only thing keeping this deal from being worse is that the Blackhawks made an effort to improve a need, and losing Dano proved to not hurt the team.
Grade: F
The Really, Really Bad:
Mar. 2014: Blackhawks trade a 2nd (2014) round pick to the Phoenix Coyotes for defenseman David Rundblad and Mathieu Brisbios
Where it all began. After only appearing in 12 games for the Coyotes, Bowman decided to trade a 2nd round pick for the young defenseman, hoping he could reach his potential. He did not. Not only was his on ice play terrible, Joel Quinville absolutely hated him, only playing him in 5 games that season. Then to just add icing on the cake, Bowman gave him a 2 year, $1.05 million contract, and eventually gave him away for nothing.
The second round pick traded become forward Christian Dvorak, a young center from Palos, Illinois, who fits the Blackhawks forward mold beautifully. While its never a guarantee that the team would make that pick, its hard to argue they would not have looked hard at him.
Grade: F-
Feb. 2017: Blackhawks trade center Phillip Danault and a 2nd (2018) to the Montreal Canadians for forwards Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann
Possibly the worst trade Bowman has made. Only playing in 30 games for the Blackhawks averaging 4th line minutes, the team shipped their former first round pick away at 23, along with an early round pick, for two bottom six forwards. Niether made an impact at all for the team, while Danault flourished in Montreal.
In his first full NHL season, Danault scored 13 goals and had 27 assists, for a total of 40 points. He has seen a drop off in this season, but is still putting up solid numbers and become a reliable third line center, with his 53% faceoff percentage. Sound like something the Blackhawks need?
To add onto this deal, Bowman traded the Blackhawks second round pick of this season, which as of today would be the 9th pick of the second round.
Grade: No letter can describe how bad this deal is
Bowman’s Grade:
Overall, Bowman has had his fair share of good and bad moves. Many of his moves helped lead the Blackhawks to 2 more Stanley Cups, but some have likely shortened the teams window. Many of these moves satisfied the fanbase who were craving another championship, and hindsight is 20/20.
Grade: C
What do you think of our list? Missing any deals? Feel a grade is not correct? Let us know in the comments!
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