The Chicago Blackhawks picked up plenty of veteran presence on Friday in the opening day of NHL free agency.
'Hawks GM Stan Bowman promised change without an emphasis on big names or high-dollar contracts. The host of players he signed Friday indicate that Bowman stuck to the plan he mapped out in the days leading to Friday.
Including Steve Montador, who Bowman got signed Thursday before they lost his exclusive negotiating rights, the Blackhawks nabbed six free agents when the smoke had cleared.
The 'Hawks moved quickly, signing Brett McLean, Jamal Mayers, Sean O'Donnell and Andrew Brunette hours after the floodgates opened at 11:00 a.m. Late in the day, Chicago announced that they had signed Daniel Carcillo as well.
What Bowman did on Friday was bring in physical veterans for the bottom portion of his roster. He picked up his role players in an frugal fashion, considering some of the contracts handed out by other clubs.
Aside from Montador, Bowman made no long-term commitments. The 'Hawks bought another year of development for several talented prospects in the organization and made the ...
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Article written by Jon Fromi
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July 2nd, 2011 by Jon Fromi Leave a reply »
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