Stan Bowman speaks with realism and wisdom

General Manager Stan Bowman

“I think obviously if you never see any signs of your team playing good hockey, then there’s reason for concern,” Bowman said before the Blackhawks’ series-clinching Game 4 win over the Minnesota Wild last week. “We had a lot of stretches this year we played very good. It’s the way the game is today in terms of how balanced it is. It’s completely unrealistic to think you’re just going to breeze through in an 82-game season and have no struggles.

“I go into every year knowing that there’s going be times that try your patience. I think if you go in with that mindset that you understand when those times happen you come together as a group, you figure out a way to get your team going. You never get too fatalistic about things. I think as much as you want to be consistent every night it’s just really with the competitive balance in the league, it’s unrealistic to expect that. But you still have to have signs that your team can be a force. I think we’ve shown that throughout the year probably more times than not that we can play some very good hockey.”

Reference: Bowman never lost confidence in Hawks.

The fact is the Hawks are a winning organization. We see all the talent on the ice, but there must be loads of stars behind the scenes, too: from the executives and front office staff, to the trainers and equipment guys. It is in this context, I think, that Bowman never wavered in his confidence, even as the team weathered an up and down season. He speaks with the realism and wisdom of a seasoned, successful executive, who knows that the road to the Stanley Cup is long and tough and there are no guarantees for even the best of teams. But as long as everyone in the organization gets the job done, he can count on something very special at the end of that road!