Wow. Blackhawks just might win this thing.

[sixstrings75]

I'm very impressed with this team. About 3-4 years ago I read a piece in SI that detailed their plans to go from the laughingstock of the league (which they were), to cup contenders.
It detailed everything from how they were going to change their outlook on their fans to drafting and making smarter decisions regarding players.
Hat's off to the present owners and managerial staff. Other teams should take note...

[Bluzmann57]

1. And they're built for the long run

Kane, Toews, and Byfuglien are still young, not to mention the goalie Niemi. And Hossa has Stanley Cup experience, albeit on the losing end. Yep, this team should be contenders for many years. Now if only the Cubs could follow their lead...

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

2. Yeah, Rocky Wirtz has done the right thing with the Hawks.

His old man, Bill, was a piker. What was it Ditka said about George Halas, "he threw nickels around like they were sewer covers". The same can be said for William Wirtz.

[sixstrings75]

3. Here's that article from SI - October 2008

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1147029/index.htm

Some snips...


"From the perimeter of a red carpet
The team isn't yet poetry in motion; Chicago opened 1-2-1 before replacing coach Denis Savard with Joel Quenneville last Thursday. Yet a confluence of events since the death of longtime team chairman Bill Wirtz in September 2007 has led to the resuscitation of an 82-year-old franchise that has languished near the bottom of the standings, and well below most fans' radars, for a decade: the emergence of now-sophomore forwards Patrick Kane (72 points last season) and Jonathan Toews (24 goals); home games televised in greater Chicago for the first time on a regular basis; the hiring of Cubs president John McDonough to run the organization; the appointment of former stars Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, members of Chicago's last Stanley Cup champion, in 1961, who had been estranged from Wirtz's Hawks, as official team ambassadors; the signing of free-agent defenseman Brian Campbell (left) to an eight-year, $57 million deal, the richest in franchise history; the addition of Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman as senior adviser, and the opportunity to host the next Winter Classic, on New Year's Day at Wrigley Field.

"Bill Wirtz forbade the airing of home games locally because he believed televising them would hurt attendance—a misguided attitude direct from the 1960s. Rocky arranged to have 11 home games aired locally last season; this year it's all 41, including a win over the Coyotes that's being enjoyed by fans (above). McDonough also rehired play-by-play man Pat Foley, the popular voice of the team who was fired in 2006. Coaches like Phoenix's Wayne Gretzky and Columbus's Ken Hitchcock have hailed his return. So have the Hawks faithful."

"McDonough is a tall, patrician man of 55 who has taken, in his words, "a bulldozer on steroids" approach to the Blackhawks since being lured from the Cubs last November. He counts 27 changes that he has made to the business operation—including hiring a receptionist. He has doubled the front-office staff, ramped up the promotion budget and in July unveiled a three-day Blackhawks Convention at which fans rubbed elbows with players and coaches."

[kanrok]

4. I'm a huge Hawks fan

I was there when they won their last Stanley Cup game (not series).

This is their best chance in my lifetime (They were up 2-0 against Montreal in '73 and lost in 7)

They have to win this year.

Next year they face a hard salary cap and they will lose a great deal of their depth (Versteeg, Sharp, maybe even Niemi) to free agency.

Go Hawks.

[MrSlayer]

5. Tonight is huge.

Win tonight and it's pretty much locked up. Lose and this series is on. Go Blackhawks!