Brian Campbell, Troy Brouwer Trades a Failed Gamble for Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman gambled on the 'Hawks ability to play without two veteran players last summer. Ultimately, that gamble resulted in another first-round playoff exit.

Bowman made some bold moves on the eve of draft weekend a year ago in an attempt to shed salary. Bowman must have figured that he would be able to replace what he dealt away through a host of free-agent signings.

He figured wrong.

On June 24, Bowman set into motion the first part of his gamble, sending Troy Brouwer's negotiating rights to Washington in exchange for their first-round pick. The 'Hawks selected forward Phillip Danault with the Capitals pick, while Brouwer signed a two-year, $4.7 million contract with his new team.

The next day, Bowman pulled the trigger on an even bigger trade, sending the mammoth contract of defenseman Brian Campbell to Dale Tallon and the Florida Panthers for forward Rostislav Olesz. Bowman succeeded in freeing up a large chunk of cap space in the two deals.

Unfortunately, he never did anything with it.

Bowman had moved two players who were often chided for what they didn't or couldn't do for the Blackhawks. Brouwer's numbers teased at the emergence of a top-six power forward, but 2010-11 wasn't the breakout year many expected. Campbell was just never able to produce enough to make fans forget about his $7.1 million salary.

In making these two deals, Bowman set himself up to sink or swim based on three notions. He had to replace the physical presence Brouwer was around the net. He had to find the veteran savvy and puck-moving ability Campbell took with him to the sunshine state.

The success of Bowman's summer also hinged on his ability to use the extra cash to fortify the 'Hawks as the season progressed. The fact that I watched Campbell and Brouwer's teams playing after the Blackhawks had been eliminated tells me that Bowman failed on both counts.

All Campbell did was make the Eastern Conference All-Star team and lead the Panthers to their first playoff berth in a dozen years. He had five points for Florida as they took New Jersey to seven games before bowing out.

Campbell made a difference for Florida, along with Tomas Kopecky, whose rights were dealt to the Panthers for a conditional pick a few days later.

Would Campbell in an Indian head sweater have improved this season's effort on the back end? Probably.

Nick Leddy had himself some offensive success in 2011-12, but in no way, shape or form did he fill Campbell's skates. Chicago was in need of a top-four defenseman all season. The combined efforts of Leddy, Steve Montador and Johnny Oduya weren't enough.

Meanwhile, Chicago got no real value from Olesz, who skated six games for the 'Hawks and spent the bulk of his season in Rockford.

While Brouwer put up similar numbers to last season for the Captials and added a voice to the locker room, Andrew Brunette skated to disappointing offensive totals. Bryan Bickell spent most of the regular season chewing on a bone in Joel Quenneville's doghouse.

Could the power play, which plummeted in effectiveness from a year ago, have been better with Brouwer in front of the net and Campbell at the point? No one knows for sure, but skating the puck into the offensive zone and net presence were among the laundry list of problems Chicago had with the man advantage.

Bowman not only failed to bring in players with comparable talents to fortify the Blackhawks, but didn't utilize the wad of cap cash he had in his pocket. The trade deadline saw him acquire Oduya and Brendan Morrison, who was far from an impact player.

Perhaps Bowman will use some cap space this summer to bring in an real impact player to the top two scoring lines. Maybe he can score that defenseman who can knock players off of their perch in front of the Chicago crease.

Danault looks like he could be something in a few years. Leddy's development will continue. Olesz may or may not find a spot at the bottom of the 'Hawks roster.

In the short term, however, Bowman's summer gamble in 2011 didn't produce a sustained run in the playoffs.