Chicago Blackhawks extend GM Stan Bowman

Corey Crawford stopped 25 shots for his league-leading seventh shutout, rookie Artemi Panarin and Andrew Shaw scored and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues 2-0.

The Chicago Blackhawks are taking care of business both on and off the ice.

While rocketing to the top of the Western Conference by winning 13 of their last 15 games, Chicago has extended both its decorated head coach and, Tuesday morning, its decorated general manager for three more seasons.

Stan Bowman, the defending champions’ GM and senior vice president, inked a three-year extension that will run through 2020-21, one season after head coach Joel Quenneville’s new deal expires.

Bowman is in his 15th campaign with the Blackhawks and his sixth as the VP/GM, having been named to the position on Sept. 7, 2010.

In three of his six seasons at the helm, the Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup. Bowman is the first GM to win three Cups in the salary-cap era.

“I am proud of how much Stan and his staff have accomplished and have great confidence in his leadership as our organization continues to strive for consistent excellence,” Blackhawks president and CEO John McDonough said in a release.

“Under Stan’s guidance, our hockey operations department is strong across all levels, including scouting, player evaluation and development, and salary cap management. He has created a sound structure that Blackhawks fans can be excited about for many years to come.”

Bowman’s ability to maintain continuity behind his team’s bench and his knack for adjusting his roster in the face of salary-cap pressures is impressive.

Few would have predicted the Blackhawks would shoot to the top of the league’s toughest conference this season after losing Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya, Brad Richards and Antoine Vermette from their 2015 championship core.

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