Last night the Chicago Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in six years. By doing so, they sealed their case as the latest National Hockey League dynasty.
The Blackhawks came into the Finals seeking their sixth Cup. To get it, they had to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning who were seeking just their second Stanley Cup victory.
The sixth game of the series at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois was the only game decided by either more than one goal or in which either team lead by more than a goal at any point in the series.
Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup Finals Most Valuable Player. He became just the fourth player since 1998 to log 700 or more minutes in a single postseason, joining Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, retired Edmonton Oilers defenseman Chris Pronger and retired Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom according to the NHL’s Public Relations Department.
Keith — and fellow Canadian and Blackhawks Captain Johnathan Toews — joined NHL greats Scott Neidermayer, Igor Larionov, and Martin Brodeur as the only players in history to win three Stanley Cups and two Olympic gold medals. Keith also became the only player in history to win three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, two Norris Trophies and one Conn Smythe Trophy.
Blackhawks defenseman Kimmo Timonen also won his first Stanley Cup after 16 NHL seasons and will retire on top of the hockey world.
Before clinching the championship game last night, the NHL had not seen a team win the Stanley Cup three times in six years since the Detroit Red Wings did so between 1997-2002.
Before 1997 it was commonplace in the NHL to see teams win multiple Stanley Cups in a six year span. Even more so it was common for clubs to win multiple Stanley Cups in a row. But the league has not seen a team win two consecutive Stanley Cups since the Red Wings in 1997-1998.
The Blackhawks have a lot of crucial decisions to make in the coming weeks leading up to Free Agency (July 1st) as the Toews and right winger Patrick Kane extension deals kick in.
Both will count as $10.5 million towards the Chicago salary cap till those deals expire in 2023. However, both players will be paid $13.8 million in salary for the next three seasons until their contracts lessen in annual salary.
The Blackhawks, as it currently stands, have just fewer than five million dollars in salary cap space.
Their unrestricted free agent pool consists of center Antoine Vermette, center Brad Richards, center Andrew Desjardins, left wing Daniel Carcillo, and finally defenseman Johnny Oduya and Michal Rozsival.
The Chicago restricted free agents are center Marcus Kruger, left wing Brandon Saad, left wing Joakim Nordstrom, and defenseman David Rundblad.
The team has another tricky and important summer ahead of them. But as they showed in 2010 when they won the Stanley Cup and had salary cap issues, they will overcome it and return to their winning ways.
They certainly aren’t expected to be back next season.