The reality is that all elite teams are doing what the Blackhawks have done: identify the core group, secure those players, and structure the rest of the team around affordable personnel.

The challenge for Bowman is re-adjusting the budget after Dale Tallon’s fast track approach.

To be fair, Tallon did what he needed to do to make the Hawks a contending team in a very short window.

The application of Stan Bowman’s particular expertise to now reconfigure the Blackhawks’ roster, is a step analogous to what many large corporations do when they take aggressive approaches to growing their businesses.

The sentimental view aside, hockey players are assets, meant to be bought and sold according to the company plan.

What comes next will give us a fascinating insight into the business of hockey today.