Blackhawks’ salary-cap bind is one of their own making

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Stan Bowman is the most successful general manager of the salary-cap era, with his name on the Stanley Cup three times. He has expertly massaged the Blackhawks roster each year — keeping the core mostly intact, cutting ties with key players when necessary, and unearthing cheap and productive gems to fill in the gaps.

“I think Stan is pretty much a genius when it comes to the salary cap,” Patrick Kane said earlier this week. “He knows what he’s doing. We have a lot of faith in him.”

But for all his success, Bowman is hardy infallible. The Bryan Bickell contract was a disaster that cost the Hawks money and talent, including Teuvo Teravainen. The eight-year Brent Seabrook contract that kicks in next month could become an albatross in a few years as the veteran hits his mid-30s. The instant contract extension for Artem Anisimov last summer was uncharacteristically risky. David Rundblad continues to be an expensive press-box ornament. And now the Marcus Kruger contract is biting Bowman before it even starts.

As the league’s 30 GMs descend on Buffalo’s First Niagara Center for the first round of the draft on Friday night, Bowman has been weighing his options and sending out feelers on both Kruger and restricted free agent Andrew Shaw. A source said Shaw is seeking at least $4.5 million per season, nearly a million more than the Hawks are willing to pay. It’s hard to blame Shaw for asking for so much. He’d be able to get that on the open market if he were unrestricted, he’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion, a proven playoff performer, a former 20-goal scorer and a fan favorite. And if Kruger — an invaluable player but still nominally a fourth-line center who had no goals and four assists last season — can get $3.1 million a year, then why shouldn’t Shaw seek that much more?

It’s just for too much for the Hawks to pay. So they either have to move Kruger (whose value was underscored when the penalty-killing unit went in the tank following his wrist surgery) to sign Shaw, or move Shaw (or both) so they can seek defensive help through free agency, perhaps a Cup-chasing Brian Campbell on a cheap, Brad Richards-like contract.

This is the bind the Hawks find themselves in, and it’s one of their own making. Kruger did the Hawks a solid in the fall of 2015 when he accepted a one-year deal worth just $1.5 million, with a winking understanding that the Hawks would make it up to him. They did. They always seem to. Bickell was rewarded for his 2013 playoff run. Seabrook was rewarded for his years of excellence and his emotional leadership of the team. Kruger was rewarded for doing all the dirty work on the penalty kill and the defensive zone, and for helping out the cap-strapped Hawks when they needed it most.

It’s admirable that the Hawks reward loyalty and success. But it’s not always the wisest decision. A general manager’s job is to look ahead, not behind. The Hawks’ championship window is still very much open — had Seabrook’s double-post shot in Game 7 against St. Louis gone in and the Hawks had gone on to win the series, it wasn’t hard to envision them being right back in the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in four seasons. Patrick Kane is the best player in the world. Jonathan Toews is not far behind. Duncan Keith has maybe the most team-friendly contract in the league. Niklas Hjalmarsson’s a steal, too.

The Hawks — largely due to Bowman’s aggressiveness and a savvy scouting department — still will be competitive for years to come. They deserve plenty of credit for that. And while the trade-deadline losses of talented and affordable youngsters Phil Danault and Marko Dano loom large in hindsight because the Hawks got so little out of them, those were the kind of aggressive, going-for-it deals you want your GM to make. The Hawks are here to win, and to win now.

But every year, it’s getting harder to fill out the roster. Harder to find the kind of high-quality depth that made the 2010, 2013 and 2015 teams so great. Harder to make the math work. The Hawks can partly blame the struggling Canadian economy for the underwhelming salary-cap increases of recent seasons. But they also have to blame themselves.

Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com

Twitter: @marklazerus