With 40 days (give or take) to go before we drop the puck for the 2013-14 season it appears that the celebration has finally died down in Chicago. Not a moment too soon in the minds of many. There hasn’t been a repeat champion since 1997-98 and while the Stanley Cup hangover is only an urban legend, the parity of the NHL helps to support that myth.
The Blackhawks certainly have the talent to defy the odds and lift the Stanley Cup again next summer, but they’ll need plenty of focus and some good fortune as well. Right out of the gate the Hawks were in a full sprint last year setting a new league standard for games played without a regulation loss. Another quick start isn’t out of the question for the Hawks especially considering the favorable division realignments.
Not that Chicago won’t be pushed by their new Central Division rivals, but removing Detroit from the picture and replacing them with Winnipeg, Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota is a pretty soft exchange. One of those four made the playoffs last season and zero bring the type of intensity to the ice that old rival Detroit has.
Up fron the Blackhawks look almost identical to the 2013 version. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp lead the charge with playoff heroes Bryan Bickell and Andrew Shaw coming of age. They will be fortified by youngsters like Brandon Saad and possibly Teuvo Teravainen who could play another year in Finland before joining the Chicago roster.
Defense is ironically where the strength of the team lies. Despite finishing behind Pittsburgh as the NHL’s highest scoring club, Chicago’s rearguards rank as the best crew in all of hockey. Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Johnny Oduya, Nick Leddy, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Michal Rozsival provide depth, talent and experience. Chicago’s greatest improvement this past sesaon came from the blueline and with four of those six age 30 and under, the Blackhawks will be good for a long time.
“What do Michael Jackson and Corey Crawford have in common? They both wear a glove on their left hand for no apparent reason”-someone on Twitter. In goal Corey Crawford will still have his share of doubters. Up until Chicago literally won the Staney Cup, a mockery was being made of Crawford getting beat to his glove side. With a Stanley Cup now on his resume and an invite to represent his country in the 2014 Olympics, Crawford should be brimming with confidence. He will be backed up by veteran Nikolai Khabibulin, who returns for a second stint in the Windy City. If the Hawks repeat it will be because of Crawford, not in spite of him.
Prediction-First, in spite of Adam Rickert’s bold claims