Rumor: Rumors & Proposals Thread | If Babcock is Our New Coach Will Players Want to Come Here?

[McDoused]

Getting lucky for 6 years is exactly what happened. What were his key acquisitions? Or good depth adds? Everyone was already there, besides Panarin who chose them because of the stacked roster and cups he didnt contribute to. And Stan was brilliant enough to move him BEFORE he became a ppg++ player for Brandon freaking Saad

Seriously look through his moves, his best acquisition was between

Leddy, and he had like 10pts, -10 in 54 playoff games with the Blackhawks. He also got moved for a bag of pucks later.

Oduya, who was alright.

Forsling, who he waived before he became a player.

Vermette, who immediately left after winning.


And then they never won again and he moved some bigger pieces around.

Stan didnt do shit for those cups. And you could argue that we need another marquee name, unlike those Blackhawks teams that were so good that you basically just needed to trim around the edges and not be a complete moron to get them cups.

You’re holding Bowman to a really inconsistent standard. If he gets no credit for the Cups because the core was already there, then by that same logic every GM on a contender gets almost no credit.

Chicago didn’t just “run it back” for 6 years — they managed a cap-crunched roster, retooled around the edges, and stayed elite long enough to win 3 Cups. That’s not automatic.

And hindsight is doing a lot of work here. Forsling or others becoming better later doesn’t mean the decision was clearly wrong at the time. Some of the "obvious" or "meh" trades played a much larger role to them winning then you are giving them credit for.

You can argue Bowman wasn’t a “foundation builder,” to which I would agree with. But dismissing 3 Cups and calling him a moron seems emotional. It speaks to frustration and not the results. The 6 years of results clearly support that hes not a moron.

 

[chaser17]

I keep flip flopping on the Nurse trade thing, I wanted him gone 3 years ago but now with the cap rising its almost like the damage is already done? Unless they have something lined up to replace his minutes. Especially if it costs assets to trade him.

 

[Jarvi]

You’re holding Bowman to a really inconsistent standard. If he gets no credit for the Cups because the core was already there, then by that same logic every GM on a contender gets almost no credit.

Chicago didn’t just “run it back” for 6 years — they managed a cap-crunched roster, retooled around the edges, and stayed elite long enough to win 3 Cups. That’s not automatic.

And hindsight is doing a lot of work here. Forsling or others becoming better later doesn’t mean the decision was clearly wrong at the time. Some of the "obvious" or "meh" trades played a much larger role to them winning then you are giving them credit for.

You can argue Bowman wasn’t a “foundation builder,” to which I would agree with. But dismissing 3 Cups and calling him a moron seems emotional. It speaks to frustration and not the results. The 6 years of results clearly support that hes not a moron.

So was Chiarelli a good GM? He won a cup.

Im not being inconsistent. Im looking at the pieces in place when he got there, what he added and moved out, and seeing how he got close to the bare minimum out of what he was set up with. The extended core was so good, that 3 cups was the bare minimum. Even Quenneville was there before he became GM.

What moves can you point to arent just dime a dozen deals, or later undone by his own mismanagement? He did next to nothing for them.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

I suspect this post gets a lot of likes because fans are frustrated with losing people, even though you're misremembering.

Holloway and Broberg were offersheets, which Bowman wasnt responsible for. I dont want to rehash this whole thing but if you really want your can give Bowman like 5% of the blame for being on the job for 2 weeks.

Foegele wasnt signed (had 0 points in the playoffs this year) and walked before Bowman arrived. They used that money on Skinner and Arvidsson (which Bowman was able to dump to Boston).

McLeod was already traded before Bowman arrived. Fans forget how poorly Holland managed the cap and how signing Henrique forced us to move him. The decisions Holland made earlier in the season where "coming to roost" as it were.

Kane screwed us over by refusing to move earlier (Bowman was eventually able to dump him to Vancouver). This was hollands contract with trade protection to a guy who should never be given trade protection. Perry (LA signed him to a 4M contract and btw he had 0 points in the playoffs this year). I dont get how anyone thinks adding a 40 year old player to the roster at that price is a good idea.

Moving out from Ceci was *chefs kiss*. Fans thought we would have to attach a 1st to do so. Not only did we not have to, we got Emberson back. (To this point you're noticing a trend of getting out of bad contracts he didnt sign.)

So that leaves 3 guys you can criticize Bowman for. Kulak and Jarry were in the same trade. Both guys are UFAs now if you want them. It was a brutal trade but lets not pretend Skinner was the answer.

Connor Brown went like 40 games without a goal here but its a shame we werent able to sign him. I would have liked to see him sign here. Choosing Frederic over Brown was a mistake. You could argue that adding Kapanen off waivers or Podkolzin in the offseason made up for it.

Having said all of that, the core is all still here. There was no mitch marner leaving or big trade made that shook up the team. the core guys were the ones that took us to the back to back finals.

Bowman deserves a lot of criticism but I think fans just like to pile on him because hes the current GM. As you pointed out Jackson was a huge problem. He should have only ever been brought in to build out and hire guys to fill the organization, not make hockey decisions.

Bowman and Jackson are both problems, but how you defend Bowman is beyond me. I'm a very positive person and you know that from before, but I also hold people accountable in life and business and Bowman 100% deserves this hate.

Mangiapane
Jarry trade
Frederic trade and signing

3 MASSIVE FAILS and not a ton of positive moves to counter act these.
Just say it like it is that Bowman has been a disaster so far...

Hopefully this offseason he is better. (This is me being optimistic!)

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

Everybody keeps talking about how this Final has been amazing.

I’m sorry to those people but how? It’s just like every other final except this one has teams no one cares about.

Have you been watching? The games have been fast and entertaining. Great hockey.

 

[McDoused]

So was Chiarelli a good GM? He won a cup.

Im not being inconsistent. Im looking at the pieces in place when he got there, what he added and moved out, and seeing how he got close to the bare minimum out of what he was set up with. The extended core was so good, that 3 cups was the bare minimum. Even Quenneville was there before he became GM. Good GM's are guys build the core, not merely inherit one.

What moves can you point to arent just dime a dozen deals, or later undone by his own mismanagement? He did next to nothing for them.

Chiarelli isn’t a great comparison.

First, 1 Cup vs 3 matters. One championship can come from variance (hot goaltending of Tim Thomas, matchup timing, etc.). Sustained contention and multiple Cups is a different level of evidence about team-building and maintenance.

Second, the roster arc is different. Chiarelli largely presided over a shorter peak and then a fairly quick decline. Bowman had to manage a contending core through multiple cap changes, retirements, and retooling to stay the mix.

Third, the “he inherited everything” framing doesn’t match how contender GMs actually work. Once a core is in place, the job becomes cap management, depth cycling, and small-margin roster optimization. That’s not “bare minimum,” that’s literally what keeps elite teams alive under a hard cap.

Fourth, the idea that “good GMs build the core, not inherit it” is too narrow. By that logic, almost no GM on a contending team would be considered good after year one. Most Cup teams are multi-GM constructions.

Bowman isn’t just “Chiarelli with better luck.” The scale and duration of success are not comparable.

 

[KCC]

Everybody keeps talking about how this Final has been amazing.

I’m sorry to those people but how? It’s just like every other final except this one has teams no one cares about.

These finals btw;

Game 1 - The most watched game 1 since 2019,
Game 2 - The most watched game 2 since 2015.
Game 3 - The most watched game 3 since 2002.
Game 4 - The most watched game 4 since 2017.

Shockingly people actually do care.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

These finals btw;

Game 1 - The most watched since 2019,
Game 2 - The most watched since 2015.
Game 3 - The most watched since 2002.
Game 4 - The most watched since 2017.

Shockingly people actually do care.

Is this not just a sign of more people watching hockey though and it being more available.

Not to take anything away and say that people "don't care", but I think the NHL is just getting better at marketing the game and making it more "accessible"

Great finals though. The hockey has been very entertaining.

 

[McDoused]

Bowman and Jackson are both problems, but how you defend Bowman is beyond me. I'm a very positive person and you know that from before, but I also hold people accountable in life and business and Bowman 100% deserves this hate.

Mangiapane
Jarry trade
Frederic trade and signing

3 MASSIVE FAILS and not a ton of positive moves to counter act these.
Just say it like it is that Bowman has been a disaster so far...

Hopefully this offseason he is better. (This is me being optimistic!)

First off, I agree those were bad trades.

The problem is I agree that Bowman has made mistakes but Im smart enough not to just blame Bowman for everything. I think blaming the GM is a very simplistic and dated way lf thinking. We have an owner who meddles, a CEO that doesnt know know how to build a hockey team and one of the worst pro scouting groups in the NHL. I actually think bowman is one of the more competent members of the team that actually understands what it takes for an NHL team be successful. He also has lots of connections in a relatively small NHL talent pool.

I also think fans are overreacting, misremembering and misunderstanding what is happening. Bowmans good trades and signings have been downplayed as he brought this team right back to the SCF. This year a bunch of things went wrong. Knoblauch tried a brand new system to a tired and banged up group of players. The team tried to flip a switch like they always do. In previous years McDavid would carry the team past the first round. This year he was injured and even though the rest of the team played quite well, not having McDavid hurt. Our PK was also exposed by our ex coach. It was historically bad and basically why we were eliminated. Bowman brought in 2 elite PK guys and somehow it still sucked.

As far as the trades go, we keep calling them massive failures but if those are the worst deals/signings its really not that bad. They were able to get out of the Mangipane deal (our pro scouting needs to be much better). We gave up a non roster player (2nd round pick) for Frederic and could have used his cap space elsewhere (albeit the free agency pool was quite poor / same with mangipane). The last trade we got rid of a crappy goalie and added a crappy goalie. The only issue is now we have a bad contract on the books and cant use that space elsewhere. Maybe Jarry bounces back but the goaltending wasnt any worse than last year. If you want Kulak back, go sign him.

Fans are acting like he blew up this team even though the core is all still together. I think as we get out lf this flat cap mentality and adjust to the new increased cap fans will look back and see these moves as bad but not nearly as bad as people think.

 

[KCC]

Is this not just a sign of more people watching hockey though and it being more available.

Not to take anything away and say that people "don't care", but I think the NHL is just getting better at marketing the game and making it more "accessible"

Great finals though. The hockey has been very entertaining.

Maybe. But it's not like ratings are climbing every year. It keeps fluctuating. Last year the ratings weren't very good but in 2024 the first time EDM and Florida met it went 7 games and the ratings were fantastic. I think it's what you said at the end, the hockey has been very entertaining proving that even teams people don't normally care about can draw people in if the games are that good. And they have been.

 

[Jarvi]

Chiarelli isn’t a great comparison.

First, 1 Cup vs 3 matters. One championship can come from variance (hot goaltending of Tim Thomas, matchup timing, etc.). Sustained contention and multiple Cups is a different level of evidence about team-building and maintenance.

Second, the roster arc is different. Chiarelli largely presided over a shorter peak and then a fairly quick decline. Bowman had to manage a contending core through multiple cap changes, retirements, and retooling to stay the mix.

Third, the “he inherited everything” framing doesn’t match how contender GMs actually work. Once a core is in place, the job becomes cap management, depth cycling, and small-margin roster optimization. That’s not “bare minimum,” that’s literally what keeps elite teams alive under a hard cap.

Fourth, the idea that “good GMs build the core, not inherit it” is too narrow. By that logic, almost no GM on a contending team would be considered good after year one. Most Cup teams are multi-GM constructions.

Bowman isn’t just “Chiarelli with better luck.” The scale and duration of success are not comparable.

Chiarelli just inherited a lesser core. Still a great team, but those hawks were a dynasty. He also made another finals.

In fact, you could make a great argument that Chiarelli had more of a hand in Boston's cup than Bowman did for any of Chicago's.

 

[BobbytheBrain]

Could a Jarry/Markstrom swap work on some level?

As Per Garfield tweeted the Oilers/Devils were talking swap. So long story short, it's never gonna happen.