Stan Bowman Continues To Say Things That Piss Everyone Off

On Monday after the trade deadline both #FireStan and #FireBowman were trending nationally. One fanbase in one city in America's distant 4th favorite sport were able to get two hashtags trending that mean the same thing. That is an incredible amount of rage. That is a good thing for the Wirtz family because it means people still care enough to be angry. It's a bad thing for Stan Bowman because it's fair to say that the natives are upset after this last apparent blunder. He set off to do damage control and it did NOT go well. He did a press conference and gave interviews and each passing sentence was filled with half truths, mountains of bullshit, and disingenuous comments that only stoked the fires. Let's take a look

“There’s no question we’re positioned better down the road,” 

Well actually there certainly is a question if the Hawks are in a better position. Sounds like Lehner was willing to take a deal that was team friendly at least on some level. Getting rid of him at the deadline doesn't help the Blackhawks re-sign if that's what they wanted to do and the package that they received for him doesn't help either. It is unlikely that Slava Demin, the prospect the Hawks received ever plays for the Blackhawks given his role as a 3rd pair defenseman as a sophomore in college and the fact the Blackhawks have Boqvist, Mitchell, Carlsson, Beaudin, Gilbert, Keith, Murphy, deHaan, etc etc etc all ahead of him on the depth chart/prospect pool. I hope to be wrong about this. I hope Demin does work out and turns into an NHL defenseman. There certainly is a question that the Hawks are better positioned for down the road. Same thing goes for the 2nd round pick. 

You definitely can get great players in the 2nd round of the draft. Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford, Dave Bolland, Bryan Bickell, Brandon Saad, Ian Mitchell, and Alex Debrincat were all taken in the second round. So were Stan draft picks like Kayumov, Chad Krys, Graham Knott, Carl Dahlstrom, Dillon Fournier, and Ludvig Rensfeldt. Having draft picks is better than not having them, but again, I am not sure that the Hawks are better off without question. 

“The biggest thing is in today’s game is having young players play an important role. I think the last couple years we picked in the top 10 the last two years. We hadn’t picked there I don’t know how many years it was, probably since we picked Patrick Kane"

This is true. Gotta have young players play an important role and it is certainly easier to get players like that when you're picking in the top 10. Here's the thing though…you don't hear perrenial contenders making comments like this. You don't hear these complaints out of Pittsburgh or Washington or Boston. They drafted and developed better than Stan and co have done. They didn't burden themselves with bad contracts the way Stan did. They didn't come out on the losing end repeatedly when trading away young playesr. Stan lost the Saad-Anisimov deal. He lost the Panarin-Saad deal. He lost the Bickell+Teravainen-Carolina deal. He lost the Danault-Montreal deal. He lost the Jokiharju-Nylander deal. These are things that GMs can't survive. It's like he's been given 9 lives instead of three strikes. Not to mention that before Jokiharju and now Boqvist the Hawks hadn't drafted a defenseman since Hjalmarsson that actually helped them win. Someone has to be held responsible for that. 

When things get really bad…it's when Kane and Toews are clearly fed up

"Well, I don’t know. I think that’s something we’ll have to discuss with him after the season and kind of see where everyone’s at. I’m sure there’ll be some conversations once the season’s over.”--Kane

And…

There it is. The quote that if realized has the potential to ruin a franchise. You don't trade Patrick Kane. You don't let things get so bad that Patrick Kane is open to the idea of leaving. FUCK that. The Wirtz Family has done an incredible job of marketing this team and getting people to care again. You strip things down and trade the greatest players in the history of the organization because Stan Bowman has fucked things up beyond repair then you will lose fans. That is a fact. It'll be treated by fans as "same old story with the Wirtzs". I don't think that is accurate, but that will be the narrative if Kane, Toews, and Keith leave. And what is worse…Bowman apparently doesn't talk to these guys. 

“I think it’s good to ask the players what they think, to be honest with you. We’re the ones who are playing every night. We see what’s going on in the locker room. We see who’s tough to play against in the league, what teams are tough to play against. That would be a good road to go.”

Patrick Kane is an absolute student of the game. Knows everything. Watches everyone. Doesn't really have other interests. He's the best. He's gotten better. He should be a TREMENDOUS resource for Stan Bowman to lean on and yet…nothing. Apparently. Stan Bowman's reply…

“I don’t think that’s really fair to them to kind of bring them into the decision-making process. I think they have their job to do and I have my job to do.”  --Bowman

What isn't fair is that poor management decisions have cost them basically the entire length of their current contract. That's what isn't fair. He can't surround them with the type of players that they need to win or even compete consistently. Even last night, what did we see…the team went as far as Toews, Kane, and Keith could take them and they ultimately lost. Those guys aren't the problem and if they say they want a voice than fucking give it to them. If Stan was doing his job well Kane wouldn't be saying he wanted to be more involved in the process. 

I said I was done crying and complaining on Monday, but then Stan keeps throwing out bullshit excuses and flat out lies. He treats people as if they're stupid. He acts as though nobody can tell that he has fucked things up. It's infuriating. Maybe that is why he will do interviews with everyone except for the types of people who will give him a true cross examination. I honestly think that could be good for Stan. A chance to get detailed and have his side of the story challenged and sharpened. Maybe he has a good explaination for all of this. I've made requests to the Hawks…obviously interview request hasn't been accepted. And maybe that is because I created the #FireBowman trend and the clown face shirt. That might be my fault, but I would love for him to win me, Kane(?) and everyone else back over. Until then he should probably just stop talking.