Blackhawks: How Stan Bowman created a successful retool

Marian Hossa was an crucial part of the Blackhawks dynasty, but moving him to Arizona was a necessary evil.

Although this was the right call, the Blackhawks did have to give up and arm and a leg to get Marian Hossa‘s deal off of the books. Set to make $5.3 million over the next three seasons, the Blackhawks needed Marian Hossa’s contract moved in order to make room for free agent signings and to get out of the salary cap mess that they have been in for seemingly forever.

The centerpiece of the deal for Arizona was Vinnie Hinostroza, a speedy young winger who showed great promise as a Blackhawks and has found some success with Arizona. in 2018-2019, Hinostroza recorded 39 points in 72 games but has gotten off to a slow start this season. The third round pick that was conveyed to the Coyotes ended up being Nathan Legare, an 18-year-old winger in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.

The several other players coming back to Chicago in the deal, including longtime Blackhawk Marcus Kruger, are rather irrelevant in this deal. The same is also true for the fifth round draft pick in Frederick Nissen. This is very expected in a salary dump trade such as this, however, one of these players who came back could actually end up being a part of the Blackhawks future.

Enter MacKenzie Entwistle, a 20 year-old Canadian winger currently playing in Rockford. Standing at 6ft 4, Entwistle is a powerful, hard-hitting forward who has also shown that he can score the puck. In the OHL, Entwistle scored at a point-per-game clip, whereas in the AHL he has gotten off to a slower start, scoring 6 points in 13 games. Entwistle could be a future enforcer on the Hawks and someone who does the gritty work at the front of the net.