TAMPA, Florida – The Chicago Blackhawks arrive in a place where they are quite familiar, the Stanley Cup Final. In 2010, they faced the Philadelphia Flyers. In 2013, the Boston Bruins were their foe. This time, it is the Tampa Bay Lightning, an up and coming team who resemble the Chicago Blackhawks of 2010.
Three times the Windy City warriors have made it to hockey’s top stage in six years. It isn’t by accident, but it wasn’t long ago the Blackhawks’ post-season plans were more synonymous with tee times than Cup hoists.
Between the Spring of 1998 and 2008, the Blackhawks qualified for the post-season just once, losing to St. Louis in the opening round of the 2002 tournament four games to one. In 2009, Chicago reached the Western Conference Finals, losing to the Detroit Red Wings four games to one. It was the start of something big.
Since then, the Blackhawks are the gold standard, on and off the ice. Witnessing a game at the United Center, known as the Madhouse on Madison, represents one of the finest game experiences a fan of any sport can enjoy. I have witnessed it on both ends of the spectrum in Chicago and have seen the transformation.
It is a far cry from the era when Bill Wirtz owned the team, where the penny-pinching rule of refusing to televise home games and paying star players “star money” took shape. Season tickets plummeted to 3,500, 25% of what it is today. It was a culture which fostered conflict and frustration and up leading the team to demise, irrelevance and failure.
Then Rocky Wirtz took over the team when his father passed. John McDonough, formerly with the Chicago Cubs for 24 years, was brought in as President & CEO. Joel Quenneville was added as head coach, four games into the season when Denis Savard was dismissed. That 2008-09 season ended in the third round of the playoffs, the first time the team went that deep in the postseason since 1996.
After Dale Tallon was dispatched for delivering several qualifying player contract offers after League-mandated deadlines, prompting a grievance filed by the NHLPA, Stan Bowman, son of legendary coach Scotty Bowman, was elevated to the General Manager role. He had been the Assistant General Manager under Tallon and a better fit for McDonough to work with under a new plan.
Still, while the first cup win in 2010 had the fingerprints of Tallon on it, Bowman has put his mark on the franchise with shrewd moves, calculated risks and the signing of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to two, identical eight-year contracts at $84 million each. The superstars will be carrying the tomahawk for awhile. But two superstars won’t bring a Championship to a team. It is how the rest of the players fill out the roster that determines a club’s success.
Beginning with the talent up-front, some were acquired through free agency while others were homegrown. One of Tallon’s best moves was signing right wing Marian Hossa to a twelve-year deal. Hossa, a participant in his fifth Stanley Cup Final in the last eight seasons, has six years remaining on his deal and contributes regularly to the top line. In the post season, he has added 4 goals and 14 points in 17 games. He contributed 22 goals and 61 points in all 82 games.
Adding center Brad Richards was another keen move. Bought out by the New York Rangers in a roster move in which he will still be paid by them, Richard signed a one-year deal for $2. It allowed a cap-friendly addition to a team looking to make the best use of cap space. Richards has 2 goals and 11 points in 17 playoff games while 12 goals and 37 points and 76 of Chicago’s games. He compliments Kane while centering his line.
As for homegrown talent, along with Kane and Toews, half of the current Chicago roster has arrived through the draft. Those 11 skaters and one goaltender represent two-thirds of the team’s point production, with the top three scorers on the team being a Blackhawks draft choice. Andrew Shaw (5th round, 139th overall in 2011, 4 goals and 9 points in 17 games) and Brandon Saad (2nd round, 43rd overall in 2011, 6 goals and 8 points in 17 games) have contributed nicely, particularly in these playoffs, to provide depth in the other lines.
Defensively, Duncan Keith (2nd round, 54th overall in 2002, 2 goals and 18 points in 17 games) and Brent Seabrook (1st round, 14th overall in 2003, 6 goals and 10 points in 17 games) support the need to draft well in the highest rounds when top talent is available. Chicago has not squandered their opportunity here.
One of the best mid-to-late-round finds was Niklas Hjalmarsson. His nearly 26 minutes of average ice time in the playoffs has been a huge plus for Chicago as their defensive group has been thinned by injury. Matching San Jose’s offer sheet cost the Blackhawks Anti Niemi after their 2010 Cup win, the impact of a operating within a salary cap. Drafting well helps in times like that as Corey Crawford has since been a highly capable, home-grown replacement.
Through it all, the Blackhawks have remained a well-oiled machine, a difficult task in the salary cap era. The construction of the roster is complicated, but Chicago has a core group of star players who are there year after year. The other positions are filled with players who fit a role needed to support the core among the depth lines. Building the group to play an up-tempo, physical style of play and you have one juggernaut of a team.
This Stanley Cup Final will feature a battle of the seasoned Championship caliber team versus an up and coming team team on the precipice of success, each built in the same way for sustained success.
Game one is set for Wednesday night at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Face-off is set for 8:00 PM ET.
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