It takes hard work, determination, grit, jam, blah blah blah. We’ve all heard the cliches about what it takes from the guys on the ice.
Who puts those guys on the ice together?
Who decides what the right amount of “jam” is for the road to a championship?
It’s management.
You don’t just happen into three Stanley Cups. Stan Bowman has been manipulating and molding Chicago’s roster from the minute he assumed the helm. His first transaction: Chicago acquired a 2011 2nd and 3rd round pick from Toronto for their 2010 2nd. That 2011 2nd that the Hawks received turned into Brandon Saad. Pretty good return for his first trade considering the other two selections (Jared Knight and Michael Paliotta) played a combined total of 2 NHL games in their careers so far.
That’s not to say that every trade Son of Scotty has made was a slam dunk (don’t get triggered Ryan Whitney). This was the man that traded Dustin Byfuglien for a bag of pucks after all. Everyone has at least clunker or two in ‘em. Of those, trading for Dylan Strome is not.
McJesus’ former Erie teammate has burst onto the scene since being reunited with fellow Otter Alex DeBrincat. With 30 points (11 G, 19 A) in 32 games, Strome is showing why he was 3rd overall in the ‘15 NHL Entry Draft. His vision and playmaking skills are off the charts and all the credit goes to Stan. He must have thought, ‘hey, I got this “cat-guy” and he played really well with this “storm” guy in junior so why don’t I trade for him.’
And Goddamnit has it ever.
It’s one thing to buy low on a high potential former first round pick. It’s another to pair them with a former teammate (hell every organization has tried this before). The ultimate is to get that to click and succeed. Stan Bowman isn’t reinventing the wheel here; he simply had faith that past production could be repeated. He was right, and for that, and all the other great maneuvers and championships, Hawks fans should rest easy and let the master deal.