Chicago Blackhawks NHL Trade Rumors: Stan Bowman Still Not Making a Move
Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has never been after to pull the trigger on trade deadline deals. Back in 2015, he made moves to acquire Kimmo Timonen and Antoine Vermette in separate deals, and the team was active once again last season when they added Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann to their roster.
But it looks like Bowman may be a little gun shy this season because he keeps on insisting that he's not going to be as active this time around. In an interview with ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, Bowman reiterated that the Blackhawks might not make a move, but he also admitted that anything could happen between now and the trade deadline.
Well, Bowman had bad experiences with rental players before, so perhaps that's the reason he is hesitant. He probably does not want to give up draft picks and young players this time just to see the rentals walk out after the season.
LeBrun pointed out that one of the reasons Bowman is staying put is because Blackhawks don't have much salary cap room this season. He also noted that Bowman may not want to part with his young players. Bowman has confirmed that Nick Schmaltz, Vinnie Hinostroza, Ryan Hartman and Tanner Kero are not going anywhere.
During the interview, Bowman also said that he doesn't have to make a move to compete for the Stanley Cup. "There's this myth that you have to make a big acquisition or else you're not trying to win. I think that's just a fallacy," he stated.
"If you don't make one, it doesn't mean you don't want to win. It just means that it wasn't the right situation for a variety of reasons," he explained. "We're trying to win the Cup this year, absolutely, but it's not predicated upon a rental. So I think that narrative is just false," he added.