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Hockeytown0001

2015 SCF : Chicago Blackhawks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

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To tell the truth, I'm happy about this. I don't want a division rival winning the Cup. I didn't want the Stanley Cup in the south, getting gawked at by mildly bemused tourists and local swamp rats. I don't ever want to hear "The Stanley Cup gets a sun tan" ever again. *Puke*. I don't give a crap about "Stevie winning one", because he stopped mattering to me the second he started working for a rival organization. In short, NOTHING about Tampa winning the Cup would have felt good to me. I don't care about their players, coach, staff, GM, city, or state.

Secondly, I don't feel threatened by this. At all. The new Chicago dynasty is (so far) more impressive than our dynasty from 97-08. So what? We still won 4 Cups in 11 years, had top end talent to watch, and made the playoffs every single year. It's still SUPER impressive. Just because the 80's Islanders weren't the 80's Oilers doesn't make them any less awesome. This just put a stamp on something we all already knew. We're no longer the league's model franchise. Oh well, doesn't make our run at the top any less impressive.

Amen. I feel the exact same way. 100%.

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I don't think anyone is saying our run wasn't impressive - but it was much easier to build a championship team in 1997 than it is today.

The Chicago Blackhawks (in a hard salary capped system) have gone:

2009 - Conference Finals

2010 - Stanley Cup

2011 - 1st Round

2012 - 1st Round

2013 - Stanley Cup

2014 - Conference Finals

2015 - Stanley Cup

During this process, they have also lost players like Havlat, Versteeg, Campbell, Ladd, Bolland, Byfuglien, Barker, Wisniewski, and Stahlberg exclusively from salary cap restrictions. This year, they are going to lose Sharp, Seabrook and potentially Shaw or Saad.

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I still asterisk the shortened season. West didn't play a single East team during the regular season. Althought weren't people claiming West was better than East in those years? Still, playoff seeds may have been different. Plus, seeing a team during regular season has to have some advantage before you meet them in the Finals?

Or maybe not, and I am full of gas.

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To tell the truth, I'm happy about this. I don't want a division rival winning the Cup. I didn't want the Stanley Cup in the south, getting gawked at by mildly bemused tourists and local swamp rats. I don't ever want to hear "The Stanley Cup gets a sun tan" ever again. *Puke*. I don't give a crap about "Stevie winning one", because he stopped mattering to me the second he started working for a rival organization. In short, NOTHING about Tampa winning the Cup would have felt good to me. I don't care about their players, coach, staff, GM, city, or state.

Secondly, I don't feel threatened by this. At all. The new Chicago dynasty is (so far) more impressive than our dynasty from 97-08. So what? We still won 4 Cups in 11 years, had top end talent to watch, and made the playoffs every single year. It's still SUPER impressive. Just because the 80's Islanders weren't the 80's Oilers doesn't make them any less awesome. This just put a stamp on something we all already knew. We're no longer the league's model franchise. Oh well, doesn't make our run at the top any less impressive.

I look at it like this; its a tremendous amount of fun to have the team you root for win the cup. Chicago fans have enjoyed that a lot, just like us, if we don't win it I always want a team that hasn't won it to have that experience. Tampa wasn't ideal, but preferable to Chicago. I'm also not in a place to make sweeping judgements about fan bases, every town has wonderful fans, and children who want to see their team win. It's greedy for me to want Detroit to win every year, but I'm a flawed human being.

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... It's greedy for me to want Detroit to win every year, but I'm a flawed human being.

No, it is not. It would be very weird and flawed if you feel otherwise - like "give them all the Cup in rotation for participation, let them feel it! :w00t:

Edited by ami

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No, it is not. It would be very weird and flawed if you feel otherwise - like "give them all the Cup in rotation for participation, let them feel it! :w00t:

Well I don't want a rotation, I just want other teams to win naturally, I can certainly say that Chicago deserved to win the cup, and that's how it should be, I just wish teams like St. Louis and Washington had been able to put together championship teams for their fans.

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I'll be more impressed if they win another cup with the huge contracts coming on the boards from Toews and Kane. They are favored to win the cup again next year but they won't. I look for teams to come in and pick at a few of their restricted free agents like vultures cuz they know the hawks are gonna be hard pressed against the cap.

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Their core is set and not going anywhere, ithey'll lose guys like Bickell, Richards and Sharp and Oduya. But with Teravainen and Rielly - if he decides to sign with the Hawks - they'll again lessen the blow :( I don't think Chicago will win it again next year, Kings will come out reenergized and will for sure go for it. Tampa will be even better and more experienced and never count out Rangers with as long as they have King Henrik in net.

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Please somebody in the Western Conf just eliminate these pricks early next year so I don't have to see Patrick ******* Kane hoist the cup again and listen to casual Hawks fans in my neck of the woods chirping about their "dynasty." Better yet, please, Wings, just go to the finals next year and beat these pricks yourselves. I can dream.

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What happened to all the "Victor Hedman is the next big thing" talk? After game three people were talking about how he was "elite" and a "Conn Smythe" front runner. Then, suddenly, all the Hedman chatter just kinda disappeared. Odd. Almost like the hockey media was manufacturing a narrative to sell the Lightening, while they were leading the series, before giving up on it. Almost.

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What happened to all the "Victor Hedman is the next big thing" talk? After game three people were talking about how he was "elite" and a "Conn Smythe" front runner. Then, suddenly, all the Hedman chatter just kinda disappeared. Odd. Almost like the hockey media was manufacturing a narrative to sell the Lightening, while they were leading the series, before giving up on it. Almost.

It's amazing what 1 or 2 stretch passes in the finals can do for your career.

Edited by number9

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Keith lost me with his mocking of Backes coming to after being knocked out last year.

Agreed.

Keith is a great defenseman but he makes Backes look like a choirboy. I have no idea why he doesn't have more of a rep for his cheapshots, stickwork, and then chirping a guy who's clearly concussed.

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"King Henrik" is about as intimidating as a pair of dress socks. Guy can't get it done in the playoffs. I'll count him out for next season right now. He is overblown.

False. The team in front of him can never get in done in the playoffs. It isn't his job to score goals.

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False. The team in front of him can never get in done in the playoffs. It isn't his job to score goals.

Their problem has always been center depth. Stacked at G. Stacked at D. Nash and company at wing (even though Nash choked).

To me Brassard and Stepan are both great 2nd line centers. But they're going to compare to the Datsyuks, Toews, Kopitars, and Stamkos's of this league.

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Their problem has always been center depth. Stacked at G. Stacked at D. Nash and company at wing (even though Nash choked).

To me Brassard and Stepan are both great 2nd line centers. But they're going to compare to the Datsyuks, Toews, Kopitars, and Stamkos's of this league.

100% agree with this. It just annoys me when people say things along the lines of Henrik being unable to get the job done.

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