It’s easy to forget just how different the climate was around the Blackhawks prior to the signing of Brian Campbell.
There have been other big acquisitions over the years, such as the steal of a deal in the 2005 Patrick Sharp trade and the free agent deal offered to Marian Hossa in 2009.
But no one move indicated how different things were going to be than the free agent signing of Brian Campbell in 2008.
There was reason for optimism that summer.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane exploded onto the NHL scene in their rookie seasons.