Route to Stanley Cup

First off, let me start by congratulating the Chicago Blackhawks on an incredible run to win the Stanley Cup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The series between the two powerhouses was one for the ages. The Chicago Blackhawks have now won 3 cups out of the last 6 years, starting in 2010.  Can the Blackhawks be considered a dynasty now?  A sports dynasty is a team that has dominated that sport for a significant amount of time.  Some people would say no, not yet, while others would disagree and say 6 years is not long enough yet to be considered a dynasty.  I will let you decide on that.  

The Blackhawks had to get by (in order) the Predators, Wild, Ducks, and then finally the Lightning. 

Here is the list of scores from those games.

Blackhawks / Predators

Game 1: Blackhawks 4, Predators 3 (2OT)

Game 2: Blackhawks 2, Predators 6

Game 3: Blackhawks 4, Predators 2

Game 4: Blackhawks 3, Predators 2 (3OT)

Game 5: Blackhawks 2, Predators 5

Game 6: Blackhawks 4, Predators 3

Blackhawks / Wild

Game 1: Blackhawks 4, Wild 3

Game 2: Blackhawks 4, Wild 1

Game 3: Blackhawks 1, Wild 0

Game 4: Blackhawks 4, Wild 3

Blackhawks / Ducks

Game 1: Blackhawks 1, Ducks 4

Game 2: Blackhawks 3, Ducks 2 (3OT)

Game 3: Blackhawks 1, Ducks 2

Game 4: Blackhawks 5, Ducks 4 (2OT)

Game 5: Blackhawks 4, Ducks 5 (OT)

Game 6: Blackhawks 5, Ducks 2

Game 7: Blackhawks 5, Ducks 3

Blackhawks / Lightning

Game 1: Blackhawks 2, Lightning 1

Game 2: Blackhawks 3, Lightning 4

Game 3: Blackhawks 2, Lightning 3

Game 4: Blackhawks 2, Lightning 1

Game 5: Blackhawks 2, Lightning 1

Game 6: Blackhawks 2, Lightning 0

The Blackhawks were not the best team in the NHL in the regular season, with a record of 48-28-6, yet managed to pull of wins in the playoffs to win the Stanley Cup.  The 48 stands for the game won, the 26 stands for the games they lost, and the 6 stands for the ties that they had.  The Blackhawks ended up 3^rd in the Western Conference Central division, with the Blues and Predators in front of them respectively.  

Now that Hockey is over and we have our champion, it is now going to be the start of the off season. Teams are going to be making moves to shift players around to make room for their respective salary cap and try to enhance their teams.  I’m interested to know what kind of moves the team’s make and will share with you my ideas of those moves.  Again, congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks to a fantastic run to win their 3^rd Cup in the last 6 years.