ST. LOUIS - The question of whether the Blackhawks would be buyers or sellers at the NHL trade deadline was answered rather emphatically by Senior Vice President/General Manager Stan Bowman.
Bowman made two separate deals of players on the NHL roster at the deadline Monday, sending pending unrestricted free agents Robin Lehner and Erik Gustafsson to the Golden Knights and Flames, respectively. In return, the Blackhawks received a second-round selection in the 2020 draft, goaltender Malcolm Subban and defenseman prospect Slava Demin from Vegas and a 2020 third-pound pick from Calgary.
FEATURE: Blackhawks Look Towards Future on Deadline Day
Chicago acquires pair of picks, defensive prospect and young netminder for duo of pending unrestricted free agents
By
Chris Kuc @ChrisKuc / Blackhawks.com
"It's been a very busy stretch of days, not just (Monday)," Bowman said during a post-deadline sitdown on the
Blackhawks Insider podcast
. "Even going back probably close to a week, I've had several conversations, probably over 100 phone calls in the last week with differing levels of interest. I've spoken to every team (and) talked about a lot of different scenarios. We were finally able to pull off a couple of moves. We like how it all played out in the end.
"The two roster players that we moved in Robin Lehner and Erik Gustafsson were both unrestricted free agents," Bowman added. "If a player doesn't have a contract for next year their value starts to diminish rapidly once you pass the trade deadline because that player is not eligible to be traded and not signed beyond this year so that was our focus (Monday)."
NHL TRADE DEADLINE
COVERAGE
Malcolm Subban](https://www.nhl.com/blackhawks/news/three-things-get-to-know-malcom-subban/c-315502290)
THREE THINGS: Get to Know Slava Demin
PODCAST
PODCAST: Trade Deadline Dealing with Stan Bowman
TRADES
RELEASE: Blackhawks Acquire Subban, Demin and 2nd-Round Pick for Lehner
RELEASE: Blackhawks Acquire 3rd-Round Pick for Gustafsson
RELEASE: Blackhawks Acquire T.J. Brennan from Flyers
As recently as a few weeks ago, the Blackhawks were perhaps in position to keep Lehner and possibly acquire other assets with the intention of making a run in the Western Conference postseason race, but a 3-6-2 record in February likely sealed the fates of both Lehner and Gustafsson.
"Certainly, where we are the standings when you get to this point in the season that factors into your decisions," Bowman said. "Does it make sense to expend assets to bring players in - and that's more of a short-term win now mentality - or are you looking down the road a little bit and trying to recoup some assets, and that's what we decided to do."
Bowman, however, said the deals don't mean the Blackhawks won't continue their quest for a wild-card spot in the West. Entering Monday's play around the league, the Blackhawks were eight points out of the second wild-card spot with 20 games to play.
There is no plan to stop making a push.
"We haven't had the success the last 10 or 12 games but I really like the competitive nature of our group (and its) never-say-die approach and whether it's behind in a game or a stretch of games where things aren't going our way you can see the passion for our guys to try to find a way to get the victory," Bowman said. "I don't expect that to change at all. There are a lot of guys with a lot of pride in that group, ourselves included. The front office, the coaches, the players, everybody wants to win."
Both Lehner and Gustafsson were pending free agents so Bowman looked to the future by acquiring the picks, Demin and Subban, who was the 24th overall selection in the 2012 draft by the Bruins. Subban is expected to be in the mix to be Corey Crawford's backup with the Blackhawks while Demin is playing his sophomore season at the University of Denver alongside fellow Blackhawks prospect Ian Mitchell.
"I thought it was important for us to have a lot of dialogue on both Gustafsson and Lehner and see (what) the league ... saw in our players and their interest levels," Bowman said.
The deals came to fruition and the Blackhawks are in a better position to move forward in the longer term. In the short term, Bowman had to overcome any disappointment with where the team stands with 20 games remaining.
When the season began - and even up until as recently as this month - the belief was the Blackhawks would be buyers at the deadline to make a push toward the playoffs. Season-ending injuries to veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan and the long-term absence of forward Andrew Shaw - along with some inconsistent play from established players - played a large role in the Blackhawks not being able to develop a consistent winning formula this season. That dictated the direction Bowman headed at the deadline.
"The important thing is to assess where you're at and move forward," Bowman said. "Every team in the league has a plan that they want to try to follow. It's a process you go through. You spend time mapping things out and then life happens and things change. You have to adjust based upon where you're at so this is what makes most sense for us. This is where we are today and we have to make the moves that we make for the short term but also to build for the long term."
