Bowman looks for ‘growth from within’ to boost cap-strapped Hawks

General manager Stan Bowman has deserved every bit of the credit he’s received for the Blackhawks’ three Stanley Cups in the past seven seasons. But even Bowman has acknowledged he’s had the wind at his back — inheriting the bulk of the Hawks’ famous core from Dale Tallon and having plenty of salary cap space to re-sign many of those core players.

Now, with precious little cap money, no top-10 draft picks since Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in 2006 and 2007, no first-round pick at all in 2015 and 2016 and a productive-but-aging core, Bowman is going to have to dig deeper than ever into his bag of tricks to keep the championship window open.

“What you need to do is have some growth from within,” Bowman said Wednesday at the Hawks’ season-ending press conference after losing to the Blues in seven games in the first-round of the playoffs. “You need to have younger players taking the next step. That’s where this improvement is going to come … not so much looking outside.”

Despite the first-round exit after three consecutive deep runs in the playoffs — Stanley Cups in 2013 and 2015 and a Game 7 loss to the eventual champion Kings in the Western Conference final in 2014 — the Hawks’ run as a championship contender is far from over. Of the Hawks’ core — which now has to include Corey Crawford — only Marian Hossa at 37 has shown visible signs of age. And if the playoffs are any indication, he should have no problem re-inventing himself as an invaluable third-line player. Jonathan Toews, who turns 28 on Friday, Patrick Kane (27), Niklas Hjalmarsson (28) are in their prime. Crawford (31) is coming off a Vezina Trophy-caliber season. Duncan Keith (32) was still an elite defender in 2015-16. Brent Seabrook had a career-high in points (49) at 31. And Artemi Panarin, 24, figures to improve in his second NHL season.

Of the in-season acquisitions, the Hawks surely would like to re-sign Andrew Ladd and probably Dale Weise and Richard Panik. Ladd will be the toughest to sign, though he said he valued winning a championship over breaking the bank.

“I think I’m at the point in my career where I can make decisions based on being in a good situation,” Ladd said. “I don’t think it’s all about money for me. It’s about being in a good place for my family and on a team that’s going to contend every year. You’d be crazy not to want to be a part of this group.”

Still, fortifying that core group could be problematic for Bowman this year. Players such as Teuvo Teravainen, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Erik Gustaffson have to improve significantly. Bowman’s options are limited.

“There’s always the chance to improve your team through trade,” Bowman said. “We’re looking for players that were here this year to take their next step. For players in Rockford … we’re looking for some of them to seize the moment in the NHL.

Bowman mentioned forward Mark McNeill (25 goals, 48 points at Rockford), Ryan Hartman (15-35, plus-16) , Vinnie Hinostroza (18-51, plus-7), Tanner Kero (20-39, plus-15), Tyler Motte and Kyle Baun and defenseman Ville Pokka [10-45] among the prospects who could make an impact with the Hawks.

“Mark McNeill and Ryan Hartman in particular, they’ve had good seasons,” Bowman said. “Vinnie Hinostroza led the team in scoring — that was impressive. Tanner Kero scored 20 goals as a rookie, so that was impressive. We haven’t had a guy do that in Rockford before.

Motte could be a player to watch. He signed with the Hawks after a breakout season at Michigan and impressed the Hawks in a brief stint with the IceHogs — including two goals in three playoff games. He will play for the United States in the World Championships, “which is quite an honor for a college player,” Bowman said.

With a need to build defensive-corps depth, Pokka continues to be a hot prospect. “He’s shown progress and overall growth to his game,” Bowman said. “He had a great rookie season last year [with the IceHogs]. This year he took that net step. So the question is, can he translate that into the NHL? I think he’s trending that way.

“We have some younger Swedish players who are coming over on defense. Next year will be their first year. We’ll see how they look at training camp. There are a lot of names there.”

There’s the rub — at this point they are just names. Former IceHogs have matured into productive NHL players, but not as much lately. Crawford played 255 minor-league games over five seasons before becoming a starter with the Hawks. Hjalmarsson played 99. Andrew Shaw (66), Brandon Saad (31) and Teuvo Teravainen (44) also spent some time in the minors before joining the Hawks.

And even then, most of those minor-league call-ups were joining a Hawks team with a larger and more solidified core. This group will have bigger holes to fill.

“We’re going to need some of those guys to step forward,” Bowman said. “I’m not sure which ones are mostly likely at this point. We don’t really handicap it. We’re looking for those guys to have good summers and come in prepared to show us they’re NHL players.”