It’s a modern day dynasty.
In the cap era, it’s almost impossible for teams to keep the same players from year-to-year, and the Chicago Blackhawks are no different. For the third time in the last six years, the Hawks have won the Stanley Cup – sports most celebrated and famous trophy (No, it’s true. Look it up).
The Blackhawks are a modern day dynasty. They are the epitome of a team that you do not want to play in the playoffs. The core of this team is one of the best ever assembled.
Jonathan Toews. Patrick Kane. Duncan Keith. Brent Seabrook. Marian Hossa. Brandan Saad – just to name a few.
Each year the Hawks are an automatic favorite to win because of their coaching and the consistency of their players. Joel Quenneville has solidified himself as one of the greatest coaches in the game. Kane, Toews and Keith have all won Conn Smythe Trophies, given out to the MVP of the playoffs.
The Blackhawks have proven that a team can compete consistently in a salary cap era that has seen many teams depart with core players they had hoped would bring success to their franchise. This is one of th reasons why the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in all of sports.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were not an easy team to push aside. They fought hard and humbled a Hawks team that was favored going into the series.
Ben Bishop fought off a torn groin to help his team to get within two wins of the Cup. Whether or not the Lightning should have played him is up for debate, but they did, and the Blackhawks were able to pierce him twice in Game 6.
Corey Crawford shutout the Lightning and made a name for himself in Chicago tying legend Tony Esposito for most playoff wins by a Chicago goaltender with 45.
Another great story tonight was Kimmo Timonen. Timonen was acquired at the deadline from the Flyers to add a little experience the blueline, and while he didn’t play a ton, Timonen will finish his career in Chicago winning a Cup. He’s a great guy with a ton of heart and it’s great to see him end his NHL career on a winning note.
The party in Chicago should be just as good as the last the two and the fact they won it on home ice for the first time since 1938 is even more of a celebration.
Congrats to the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning for a great series and great ending to the NHL season.
The Blackhawks become a modern day dynasty
