Everything seemed to start well enough, and even when the Kings fought back to tie Game 7, the Blackhawks would retake the lead. As the series that had been so good even casual fans were raving about its quality saw the winner-take-all game go into overtime, we all wondered which Hawk would emerge as this year's hero. Toews had the game-winner on the breakaway in Game 5 in St. Louis and Kane had the series-clincher in Minnesota. This time though, the lucky bounce of the puck instead went in the other team's favor and fans all over Chicago were left speechless.
While it was certainly a heartbreaking conclusion to a hard-fought series, the end result is not cause for panic. There are questions that deserve to be asked, for sure. However, the Blackhawks were attempting to repeat after last season concluded later than usual, this season began earlier than usual, and the team was tied for the most skaters sent overseas for the Olympics. The fact that they made it as far as they did is a testament to how very good they are, and that they lost to a club that was arguably the best team in the league is nothing to be ashamed of.
While the Hawks started the year strong, they were fending off a very solid St. Louis Blues team that was favored all year long as a likely Cup contender. This is not to mention that the Colorado Avalanche came from out of nowhere to win the division. Chicago went from leading the Central for the first three quarters of the season to finishing third. The Blackhawks fell behind the Blues 2-0 in their first round series before winning the next four, but Chicago often looked like they were running on fumes even in getting by the Wild in six games in the next round. The same became apparent late into the second period of Game 2 against Los Angeles, when the Kings ripped off six goals on their way to dominating the Hawks and taking a 3-1 lead. Even though the Blackhawks were on the verge of returning to the Stanley Cup Final to face what would have largely been considered a vastly inferior New York Rangers opponent, the player usage statistics as posted by Second City Hockey's Jen Lute Costella were remarkably telling:
Simply put, this year's team was not as dominant as they were one season ago. We will later learn about the injuries many were playing through and I've already lamented the exhaustive scheduling demands, but the one thing we should realize now is that the "dynasty" we had been dreaming of will not come easily. In the new salary cap era of the NHL, we'll be lucky if it comes along at all. In fact, there's a good chance that the very same Kings that ousted the Hawks this year will meet Chicago again next year in the 2015 Western Conference Finals.
So what do the Blackhawks do other than rest up and get healthy? There's young talent to look forward to (Stephen Johns, Teuvo Teravainen), but the annual calls are already out once again for this team to find a second line center. Seeing as Chicago was eliminated by a team that was able to roll four quality centers, this might not be a bad idea. Still, we've been asking for this going on five years now.
Speaking to the media today, Stan Bowman said signing Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to extensions was the top priority this off-season. I expect those deals to be announced at the team convention this summer. If it were up to me, I'd really like for the team to shop Brent Seabrook. The free agent market for defensemen this summer will be rather thin, and teams in need might be willing to give up an awful lot for the guy we had come to think of as Duncan Keith's inseparable partner but are now regarding as slow, out of shape, and prone to catastrophic errors. There's a very good chance that another GM will think they are acquiring the Seabrook of yesteryear who handled the puck well and could deliver big hits. It would be foolish of Bowman not to entertain offers for his services, even though I have my doubts he'll pull the trigger on such a deal.
The series with the Kings also proved the Blackhawks lack the depth they once boasted as being the best in the league. While L.A. rolled four lines and kept fresh legs on the ice, Joel Quenneville continually turned to Brandon Bollig, Kris Versteeg, and Michal Handzus to play only a handful of minutes on the fourth line while the remaining nine forwards took on extra minutes. This also meant that younger players who had demonstrated more upside in the regular season (and the playoffs in limited instances for the second name I'm about to mention) like Jeremy Morin or Peter Regin were healthy scratches that went to waste.
Bowman clearly believes he's acquiring and developing young talent, yet Q stands by his veterans. The two men absolutely must get on the same page next year. The Versteeg trade is turning out to look like a horrible deal in hindsight (very few of us said so at the time, so it would be unfair to second-guess Stan on that one now), but it won't sink the ship. The Kane-Saad-Shaw line delivered the kind of energy and results that made many wonder why it hadn't been tried sooner. With the new faces due to debut next year, the hope is that there can be even more exciting line combinations in the future. The question will be whether Coach Q gives all the young players a fair chance to make their mark, let alone earn time on the ice in the playoffs.
Again, this year's loss hurt initially, but I'm over it. I underestimated Los Angeles, but now recognize that like the Blackhawks, they're here to contend for a while. I'm already giddy about the prospect of a rematch next year, and I'm fully anticipating a different result.
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