Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman is a pretty fortunate guy.
Last week, he won a Stanley Cup. This week, he's getting a lot of calls from his peers around the league offering their "assistance" in helping the Hawks get out of their salary cap issues.
"They're a team that we've got to keep in close contact with," said Phoenix Coyotes GM Don Maloney, referring to the Hawks' necessity to move some contracts.While there are many routes Bowman could follow, I figure I'd throw in my two cents. I've broken the club's current contracted players as well as potential restricted free agent goalie Antti Niemi into groups based on their value to the Hawks.
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E.J. Hradek
Senior Writer, ESPN The MagazineABOUT THIS BLOG
E.J. Hradek
E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.
In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.
Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.
