“There are not that many into the sport”.
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Being as effective as you were in the Final, does that make this all even more special? The Swiss like hockey, Barone said, but when it comes to team loyalty, they cannot compete.
“Everybody wants to know what the best Cup is”, said Sharp, whom Chicago thanks for shaving.
When Kane crumpled to the ice because of a broken left collarbone, it seemed the Hawks’ chances of winning another Stanley Cup crumpled with him. “Rocky!” Before Coach Joel Quenneville stepped to the microphone, those weren’t boos but a chorus of “Q’s”. He’s a 10-year veteran in Chicago, an associate captain, and a fan favorite who’s been present for all three Cups.
Who are the other guys?
Sharp is a great player, and he’s going to be pretty popular in the market. Intriguingly, of the eleven NHL teams with at least one goalie selected in the 1st round, only four (Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Montreal and Tampa Bay) made the playoffs this past season. The Blackhawks are already expected to have to trade some current players so they can re-sign Brandon Saad and Marcus Kruger and get under the salary cap, which is expected to be around $71 million. Now that the Blackhawks have triggered debates about whether or not they are a dynasty the rest of us who don’t care can now officially look at things that do matter. But because Chicago did not have the best weather yesterday, this year’s rally was held at Soldier’s Field, which could only accommodate about 61,000 people.
Video highlights from the season were shown on the stadium’s giant television screens as fans, most sporting red Blackhawk’s jerseys, roared. “I’m close with a lot of the guys”.
“I was optimistic all year when they got to the playoffs”.
When the Blackhawks won the title in 2013, Crawford began his victory speech the exact same way. “We were in a bit of a rut, Kaner gets hurt and … it got us playing some good, solid hockey”. That is why Bowman has been stockpiling prospects not only through the draft but via free-agent signings. He was effectively a rental, brought in to bolster strength for a Cup run, and Vermette did his part. General manager Stan Bowman did not speak, a reminder his ego is even smaller than the space the Hawks have under the salary cap.
Chicagoans have become obsessed with the whereabouts of the Stanley Cup since the Blackhawks won it for the third time in six years on Monday night.
Today’s NHL doesn’t feature teams winning five straight Cups, as Montreal did from 1956-60.
Defensemen Johnny Oduya (UFA), Michal Rozsival (UFA) and David Rundblad (RFA) all have uncertain futures in Chicago.
The first active players to appear on stage featured the most familiar names in Hawks-fan households: Kane, Jonathan Toews and Stanley Cup. And star minute-eating defensemen Keith Seabrook and Hjalmarsson.
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