Coach Q is voted off Blackhawks Island

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It’s official.  It’s the end of an era.  The Blackhawks firing of Joel Quenneville marks the end of the Blackhawks championship era.  While it might have been time for Joel to move on, Stan Bowman is more reprehensible in the Blackhawks demise.  Having said that, it’s hard to be too upset with the management/coaching combine that brought Chicago three Stanley Cups.

The NHL capped the Blackhawks roster

Quenneville hasn’t had the reputation of doing his best work with young players and that’s the way the Hawks are having to go.  Inflated contracts and poor trades have necessitated a mix of a few stars with mega-contracts and young players.  Because of the NHL’s hard salary cap, it’s extremely difficult for a team to repeat what the Blackhawks have accomplished.  Stan Bowman wasn’t up to the balancing act.  Here are a few things that stand out in my mind about Bowman’s stewardship of the Hawks.

But Stan Bowman didn't help

Bowman apparently waited too long to move Patrick Sharp and he had to sweeten the pot to move Sharp and his contract to the Dallas Stars.  Brent Seabrook is one of my all-time favorite Hawks, but why Bowman signed him to a huge contract extension when he was on the downside of his career never made any sense to me.  It might have been a reward for years gone by, but it doesn’t help in the future.

Losing the Breadman made me Saad

Trading Artemi Panarin to the Blue Jackets for Brandon Saad is the type of mistake a team working with little margin of error can’t make.  I suspect the move was made, in part, to try to jump start Jonathan Toews.  That really didn’t work out, though Toews has been rejuvenated this season.

The next Big 3 wont be as big

The Blackhawks championship seasons revolved around a core of Toews, Kane and Keith.  The Hawks have some good young players such as Alex DeBrincat but the chances of putting together a big three equal to Toews, Kane and Keith is very slim.  All three of those Hawks greats are listed in the top 100 players in NHL history.  I don’t see three players like that in the Blackhawks horizon.

What next?

While Joel Quenneville was the first key non-player part of the Blackhawks championship to hit the road, I doubt he will be the last.  I’m curious how much time Stan Bowman has to get things turned around. 

In many ways the Hawks success mirrored the success the Detroit Red Wings had before them.  The Wings haven’t approached the summit again since their descent.   I hope the Hawks don’t suffer the same fate.