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Bowman happy to share the credit for Hawks' success

When the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, it was considered by many to be former general manager Dale Tallon's team.

If that bothered Stan Bowman, the GM that season, he didn't show it.

This is Bowman's team now, built around those core players he was able to keep following the 2010 Cup win when salary cap issues had to be addressed.

“I try to point out that it really is sort of a team effort,” Bowman said. “It's not just one man. It wasn't one man back then. It's not one man now.

“I think I look at some of the success we've had personnel-wise. You have to look at our amateur scouting staff, they've done a great job. We've had a couple young players, Andrew Shaw, Brandon Saad, come in at a young age and make a big contribution. Nick Leddy, part of our pro group, scouting group, in that trade (with Minnesota). It's a team effort.”

Keeping the Hawks at the top of the pack in the NHL year after year is Bowman's main goal.

“I think everyone that has success wants to sustain that over a period of time,” Bowman said. “It's a challenge to do it.

“Obviously, there are a lot of factors that come into play in the salary cap world. I think it can be done clearly. You have to have some continuity to your team. The teams referenced have some changes, but they've had a lot of consistency. That's something we're striving for here.

“We want to keep these guys together as much as we can and to keep developing as a group. I certainly hope it's a trend that we continue. We want to remain at this level. I think the fans in Chicago have come to love the team. They're supporting us like never before. We want to keep that going.”

Two of a kind:When Bruins forward Brad Marchand looks teammate Patrice Bergeron and the Hawks' Jonathan Toews, he sees two players who are a lot alike.Both have been nominated for the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward this season and both have considerable skill.#8220;They're very similar players,#8221; Marchand said. #8220;Toews is a great player all-around. He works hard, plays defensively and battles hard and has a ton of skill. He's very similar to Bergy that way. Obviously, Bergy from playing with him, I know how great he is. They're two great players.#8221;Bergeron appreciates what Toews brings to the Hawks.#8220;Obviously, we're our own player,#8221; Bergeron said. #8220;But he's definitely a great player, tough to play against. He's a complete player. He's the type of player you want to have on your team.#8220;His two-way game is great, but also his compete level and skills are excellent. You need to know when he's on the ice, tough battles against him. It's a great challenge. You got to go out there and embrace that.#8221;Getting to know you:While the Hawks and Bruins hadn't met in more than 600 days, Boston coach Claude Julien said Chicago reminded him of Pittsburgh because of the similar offensive firepower.#8220;They have their own identity, but there's no doubt when you look at the offense, you can certainly compare them to Pittsburgh,#8221; Julien said. #8220;Their goals-against is extremely good. So defensively they're a hard team to score against.#8220;They do things that no other teams do, that we're aware of. When you look at their back end, they have a lot of Kris Letangs, let's put it that way. They can carry the puck up the ice and attack. There are a lot of things they have. Through our scouting reports, what we've watched, we see a lot of those kinds of things.#8221;

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