In the middle part of last decade, the Chicago Blackhawks were an organization degrading on all fronts. Poor performance and a deficit of talent were the standard of play in this era. Lack of fan interest was increasingly dormant, multiplied by the late Bill Wirtz’s archaic policy of not televising home games. At one point in February of 2004, the AHL Chicago Wolves outdrew a game at the United Center. Behind the scenes, finances were falling dangerously into the red. In short, few cared about this once storied NHL franchise.

When Rocky Wirtz took the reins, he had his work cut out for him. Yet, hiring the right people to run the organization & putting the right marketing minds to work to repair the relationship with the city of Chicago still wasn’t enough to turn the tide. The franchise actually owes a debt to this abysmal period: without the poor records, there would be no Patrick Kane, there would be no Jonathan Toews, and in part, there would be no Blackhawks as we know them today.

The institution of the NHL Salary Cap after the lockout of the 2004-05 season changed the landscape of a league that once claimed to devote 75% of its revenue towards player salaries. To be contending for the Stanley Cup each year, you must be smart with your free agency dollars and you must have great results from building your talent pool from the draft.

It’s strange to say “writes” when referring to a flurry of analytical data, but that is exactly what Jen LC does for fan blog The Committed Indian. Looking at NHL drafting and developing data from 2005-14, she puts hard numbers down to support exactly what most have casually observed about the Hawks: they’ve gotten the most value out of their highest draft picks.

There’s a LOT of data to comb through, but its definitely worth the time of a hockey fan as we give you a second look at a great article on 2ForTuesday.

The Committed Indian:  NHL Team Drafting & Development, 2005-2014.