Bowman talks Blackhawks' future
With the NHL draft rapidly approaching, Stan Bowman has been one busy man.
Not only is the Blackhawks' GM in Las Vegas dealing with issues such as 3-on-3 overtimes, he's also trying to put together the best team possible for 2015-16 despite serious salary-cap issues.
The league set the cap at $71.4 million Tuesday, a $2.1 million increase from last season and right about where Commissioner Gary Bettman figured it would sit when he spoke to reporters at the United Center in May.
Bowman said Wednesday that the Hawks prepared for all kinds of scenarios from the cap falling below $71 million to above $72 million to where it sits now.
“We've got a lot of plans that we've been thinking of at that number,” Bowman said.
So now what?
The Hawks as currently constructed have 14 players that count about $65 million toward next season's cap. The top three players many think will be moved are Patrick Sharp ($5.9 million hit), Bryan Bickell ($4 million) and Kris Versteeg ($2.2 million).
Trading one or more of them could net the Hawks extra picks in this weekend's draft in Sunrise, Fla.
The Hawks have seven picks with the first one coming in the second round (54th overall). They traded their first-round pick when acquiring Antoine Vermette from Arizona and their second-rounder for Kimmo Timonen from Philadelphia. The second-round pick they own is a compensatory pick.
“If we can acquire, which we have been able to do on occasion in previous years, I think that would be great,” Bowman said. “And if not, we still have seven picks in the draft. … Hopefully (we'll) add some players that we're really excited about.”
Bowman wouldn't rule out sending Sharp, Bickell, Versteeg or others to any team, even in the Hawks' division. Bowman also didn't seem worried about other GMs, who know the situation the Hawks are in, lowballing him.
“The one thing that we've had a lot of is players that have been around a winning environment,” Bowman said. “There's a lot of value (in that).
“In my discussions, people understand that it's nice to bring players in that have been part of winning cultures.”
If Bowman doesn't like what he's hearing from other teams, he can always wait until the last moment to be in compliance with the cap. The Hawks can carry $78.54 million of salary right up until the regular season begins.
Last season, Bowman traded Nick Leddy, who carried a $2.7 million cap hit, and goalie Kent Simpson to the Islanders on Oct. 4.
“Last year it worked out better to wait a little bit longer, and that might be the case this year, or we might do things sooner,” Bowman said. “I don't know that there's really a preferred method. We'll just see how things go in terms of which of those would play itself out.”
Asked about how negotiations with restricted free agents Brandon Saad and Marcus Kruger were going, Bowman not surprisingly stayed tight-lipped.
“I'm not going to get into a daily dialogue on where we're at with those guys because I don't think it helps anybody,” he said.
For openers:
The Hawks announced that the home opener for the 2015-16 season will be on Oct. 7 against the Rangers. The game will start at 7 p.m.
The Rangers won the Presidents Trophy last season with 113 points. They lost to the Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals in seven games.
The full NHL schedule will be announced Thursday at 9 a.m.