Last season, he went all in, but this time around, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman seems comfortable standing firm.
Bowman orchestrated a series of moves to bolster his club's attack a season ago, acquiring Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise, and Tomas Fleischmann in separate trades at the expense of two high picks, prospect Marko Dano, and depth forward Philip Danault.
The moves didn't pan out, as Chicago's playoff run lasted all of seven games.
On top of last year's postseason failure, it's a new team dynamic that leaves Bowman hesitant to shake things up this time around.
"There’s something to be said for chemistry and keeping your guys together, and not having someone come in externally, swoop in, and try to find a role for him," Bowman told Mark Lazerus of The Chicago Sun-Times. "So we’ll see. Things change quickly. But as we look at it today, I’m not expecting a big addition like that."
Chicago, in second place in the Central Division with 65 points, is relying on a crop of rookies more so than years past, and Bowman doesn't want to alter that.
"Established players, they don’t typically get better as the year goes on. They’re at their level and they maintain it or if anything, they drop off due to injury or fatigue or whatnot. But we’ve got a different dynamic at play. We’ve already seen it with a few of them. They’re better now than they were in October," Bowman said.
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