Nobody can call the Blackhawks general manager a liar.
Fed up after a second straight first-round playoff exit last April, Stan Bowman promised an offseason full of change _ and Friday he fulfilled that pledge with two trades that qualify as blockbuster.
The first involved dealing three-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to the Coyotes for defenseman Connor Murphy and forward Laurent Dauphin. And just when Hawks fans had recovered from the shock of trading Hjalmarsson, two days after losing Marian Hossa for next season due to a skin allergy, Bowman shook the nucleus even more. The Hawks sent high-scoring forward Artemi Panarin to the Blue Jackets to bring two-time Cup champ Brandon Saad back to Chicago. That deal also included Columbus receiving forward Tyler Motte and a sixth-round draft pick and the Hawks getting a potential backup goalie, prospect Anton Forsberg, and a 2018 fifth-round choice.
From a hockey perspective, getting Saad _ a terrific two-way player who is younger than Panarin _ back in a Hawks uniform rates as the most significant development. From a human standpoint, saying goodbye to Hjalmarsson _ as nice off the ice as he was dependable on it _ will be the most difficult. But Bowman entered the offseason committed to altering the mix even if it meant changing the core, sentiments be damned.
Being so aggressive also puts Bowman in a precarious position if these moves fail to spark a Hawks team that believes it can contend in 2017-18. This is the offseason Bowman reasserted his power, from firing assistant coach Mike Kitchen to Friday's trades. This is the moment in Bowman's tenure he invited the scrutiny he will receive. Are the Hawks better today than they were when the season ended?
Not on the blue line, where Bowman's decisions have resulted in the Hawks losing Trevor van Riemsdyk to the expansion draft and trading away their best pure defender in Hjalmarsson. Murphy, at 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds, will give the Hawks the size and physicality they lacked against the Predators and the security of knowing he is signed through the 2021-22 season. Hjalmarsson, on the other hand, had two years left on his contract before the Hawks risked losing him for nothing as a free-agent. Veteran defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook return for another year but neither one is getting any younger. The rest of the Hawks' D-men such as Gustav Forsling and Michal Kempny will start next season in prove-it mode. And you thought the Hawks never would miss the young defensemen Bowman traded away, Stephen Johns or Nick Leddy.
Cost certainty also factored into the Saad-Panarin trade. Both dynamic players carry a $6 million salary-cap hit but Panarin will hit free-agency in two seasons whereas the deal Saad signed after the Hawks traded him in 2015 runs through the 2020-21 season.
Saad, 24, gets a chance to reunite on the top line with Jonathan Toews, who needs something to ignite his offensive game. When the Hawks traded Saad, it was one of the toughest salary-cap moves to accept because of his tremendous upside. How fortunate for the Hawks that he still gets the chance to realize his All-Star potential in a red sweater.
But you have to wonder how trading Panarin will affect Patrick Kane, who helped comprise one of the NHL's most potent lines. For years the Hawks paired different wingers with Kane, who developed an uncanny chemistry with "The Breadman." If Bowman somehow can go out next month and sign free-agent forward T.J. Oshie to play alongside Kane, the loss of Panarin's production would be minimized by a team that struggled to score in the postseason. Another factor not to overlook when wondering why the Hawks would trade Panarin: His lack of impact in two straight playoff series didn't go unnoticed by team officials.
It's all about the postseason for the Hawks. And on Friday, this offseason became all about their general manager.
