The Blackhawks are officially loaded up for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the days leading up to the February 29 trade deadline, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman worked his magic. In a series of three trades, he managed to free up a few million dollars in cap space, while also filling the void on the first line and providing depth for the third and fourth lines, which haven’t provided much offense this season.

The first and biggest of Bowman’s moves came on February 25 when the Blackhawks brought back veteran center Andrew Ladd, Matt Frasor and Jay Harrison from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Marko Dano, a 2016 first-round pick and a 2018 conditional pick. On February 26, the Blackhawks announced they’d agreed to send Phillip Danualt and a 2018 second-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens for Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann. Later that day, the Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings swapped defensemen as Chicago sent Rob Scuderi to LA and got Christian Ehrhoff in return.

The Ladd trade is huge for the Blackhawks. Ever since the Blackhawks traded Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the offseason, there’s been a huge void to fill on the top line. Head coach Joel Quenneville has tried numerous combinations for the first line. Andrew Shaw, Teuvo Teravainen, Ryan Garbutt, and Richard Panik have all skated on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. Ladd brings stability and familiarity to the Toews line. Ladd skated with Toews and Hossa on his way to winning the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010. When Hossa returns from his injury, Shaw will most likely get moved to the fourth line, where his gritty, grinding style of play is better-suited. Frasor and Harrison will be sent to the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.

Weise and Fleischmann will provide veteran experience and depth to the third line. Quenneville said he expects Weise to play right wing and Fleischmann to play left wing on the third line. This means Teravainen will move to center, where he has had some prior experience. Weise and Fleischmann bring 71 games of playoff experience between them to the Hawks. The Ehrhoff-for-Scuderi trade is nothing more than a change of scenery for both veterans.

Now that the trades have been broken down, I want to address the Blackhawks fans who are upset, thinking Bowman gave up too much for a few rental players.

In the Ladd trade, the Blackhawks sent a young, inexperienced forward to the Jets in Dano. As a 21 year-old, Dano wasn’t expected to have much of an impact at the NHL level. He spent a lot of time with the Rockford IceHogs.

In the trade with the Canadiens, the Blackhawks traded Phillip Danault, a young, physical center, who has recently provided lots of energy on the forecheck and penalty kill for Chicago.

I don’t think the Marko Dano trade upset many fans. He has a long way to go before he becomes an impact player in the NHL. And stabilizing the Toews line by getting a guy like Ladd is extremely important for the Hawks to sustain success in the playoffs. I think some Hawks fans disagree most with Bowman getting rid of Danault and the draft picks.

I understand Danault looked to have a nice future as a checking line center/penalty killer (think Marcus Kruger). It’s important to have a center with size who isn’t afraid to go to the dirty areas. This is especially true during the playoffs against physical teams like the Anaheim Ducks or the Kings. But he will probably never be anything more than a third line center, and those can be found through free agency every year.

Draft picks are like gold in sports. You might have the first overall pick and draft Patrick Kane. You might have an eighth round pick and draft Dustin Byfuglien. Maybe you draft Ryan Leaf with your first overall pick, or you draft Tom Brady with the 199^th overall pick (wrong sport, I know, but those are great examples). The point is no one knows what they’re getting when it comes to draft picks. The players who will be chosen with draft picks the Hawks gave up most likely will not have an impact in the NHL until around 2018–2021. By that time the Blackhawks might win three to five more Stanley Cups. I know that isn’t going to happen, but you get the point. Teams are always willing to trade draft picks for established talent. You know what you’re getting when to trade for Ladd or Weise or Fleischmann. They can immediately fill spots and have an impact on the NHL roster.

What goal do all 30 NHL teams have in mind when their seasons start in October? To hoist the Stanley Cup in June. The Hawks have the opportunity to do that for the second year in a row. Why wouldn’t they go all-in to achieve that goal? No one remembers the team that didn’t make any big trades at the deadline and had their season ended in the first or second round of the playoffs. But that team who makes moves at the deadline and wins the Stanley Cup gets their names engraved on the trophy forever.

The window for the Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup has been open since 2010, and the fact that it’s still open six years later shows exactly how savvy Bowman is. He has to trade solid players and fan favorites to stay under the salary cap every season, and the Hawks still manage to build a Stanley Cup contending roster year in and year out. Don’t let the bandwagon Hawks fans fool you- Stan Bowman did not just trade away the Blackhawks’ future. Say it with me, Blackhawks fans: “In Bowman we trust.”