OT: BLACKHAWKS WIN STANLEY CUP
While it's cool to see John Madden win his third Stanley Cup, the most interesting part of it all (besides Kane celebrating like a madman when nobody knew what had happened) was seeing Jeremy Roenick break down. He got screwed by the 'hawks, and I'm sure that seeing them win the Cup was a very bittersweet moment for him. Thoughts (on that or anything else from the game)?
How'd JR get screwed by the Hawks?
Bill Wirtz Sr. was a cheap SOB (and that's being nice) who wouldn't let home games be aired on TV, and nickel and dimed his players. The way I understood it was Roenick wanted to stay with the 'hawks, but Wirtz didn't want to pay him what he was worth, so they traded him. Since Wirtz Sr. died in '07, his son Rocky took over, fixed relations with a bunch of ex-Blackhawks (Bobby Hull, Mikita, Roenick), spent the $$$ his old man wouldn't, and won the cup 3 years later.
I just don't see how he was screwed. The team had the best record in the NHL in 91 and got upset in round 1. Lost the Cup in 92. In 93 they were #1 in their conference and lost in the 1st round again. The opportunity to win with a very stacked team was there for many years. They didn't cash it in. He got traded as the team was heading south and others were no longer on the team for various reasons too. Had he stayed, I don't think he'd be looking back on those years, 97 and on, as years he longs to relive.
Man we were good back then. Our starting goalie, Eddy Belfour, was awesome, and his backup was a guy detroiters might have heard of, Dominick Hasek. Belfour played so well that Hasek sat behind him! Of course however many years later they were the best two goalies in hockey and met for the stanley cup on 2 different teams... cuz we were mismanaged for so long.
That core of Roenick, Chelios and Belfour were great, but Bill Wirtz did not do "legend relations" and drove away many greats.
That said, Rocky is doing it right, and hopefully JR, Chelios, et cetera will enjoy the celebration
...Chelios has already celebrated. With the Wings. Twice.
At Wrigley Field
Yeah, and he brought that thing to my neighborhood bar, coincidentally named "Stanley's".
I was watching that Cubs game on tv. He tells the Bob and Len, "See I promised the people here I'd bring the Cup home to Chicago one day." Even as a Hawks fan, that made me laugh.
is a monster.
Maybe screwed wasn't the best word to use. I was just a kid in the 90s, so I didn't fully understand what was going on or the politics going on behind the scenes. All I saw was my favorite players (Roenick and Chelios in particular) leaving the team under less than ideal circumstances, and it sucked.
Fuck the Blackhawks.
It seems like the Stanley Cup has been overshadowed by all the other big sports stories lately - Lebron James, the NBA Finals, NCAA conference realignment, USC's sanctions, etc. A new NHL champ was crowned last night, and it was like the third or fourth story on the ESPN ticker this morning.
Hard to blame ESPN. Bettman completely diluted and ran the product in the ground. I do agree with the rule changes since the lockout. Bettman's fatal mistake was expanding the game into nontraditional markets like Phoenix and Miami at the sacrifice of traditional hockey strongholds. The cross market PR campaigns since the lockout have been embarrassing as well. Hockey was doing pretty well as a product in the 90s to the early 2000's.
Eh, yes and no. While that might have been the case with the ticker, it was the lead story on the news segment of national ESPN radio this morning.
True but hockey is the 4th sport in the US...lagging far behind football, baseball, and basketball. The reality is that besides the cities that are in the SC Finals, no one really cares.
"The reality is that besides the cities that are in the SC Finals, no one really cares."
That's hardly true.
Overshadowed by the best ratings for a finals game in 36 years!!!
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=129886
The best TV viewing Stanley Cup game in 36 years went to a team that hasn't won the championship in 49 years.
The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. Its last cup was in 1961. For the entire series, the NHL has seen its best Stanley Cup television ratings finale in eight years.
Hoosa Your Daddy Now?
I just don't like that the Yahoo! Sports frontpage had the title "Cup Hawkeytown Bound". Sounds like a Canadien trying to say Hockeytown. Or just a stupid non-name for a stupid non-dynasty.
Oh yea, congrats Hawks.
Agreed. The use of "hawkey" does seem a bit contrived, especially "hawkeytown"
Chicago can't even win the Cup without ripping off Detroit? Deep down, they still wish they were us.
Hawkeytown sounds more like a Boston reference than a Chicago reference
ESPN has no broadcasting rights for hockey, so naturally they aren't going to promote it the same way they do college football, the NBA, and MLB.
I miss Gary Thorne and Bill Clement on ESPN National Hockey Night.
Gary Thorne, yes.
Bill Clement, no.
Don't forget Monday Night Football..
I work in the Loop in Chicago, live in Wrigleyville. It will be a very very very annoying few days coming up.
Being a Red Wing in Chicago used to be a lot of fun. Now I have to put up with These People.
Well try to think of it this way - at least the Cubs will never win a World Series and if the Sox win - Wrigleyville will be chirping with crickets.
And if the Cubs do win that just might be the worlds largest gay pride parade.
Get through the next few days, then watch and enjoy as they deal with salary cap hell this summer..........though I doubt any of the bandwagon fans even know about the salary cap
The Hawks were constructed to win this year because they have so much money tied up in a few players. They dont have Ken Holland as their GM so they dont know how to build long term. Maybe they're trying to be the Florida Marlins of hockey.
No, they have Scotty Bowman and his kid running the show. They weren't the ones who created the salary cap mess either -- that's all on Tallon, who clearly had an eye for talent (they stole Sharp, Versteeg, and others for boxes of pucks) but I'm not sure was even aware of the existence of the salary cap.
With as much money as the team likely made this year, one move they might make to take a bunch of salary off the cap is to bury Huet in the minors and eat his salary. Still have no idea why Tallon signed him, if the last 5 years have shown anything, it's that you don't need a frontline goalie to win the Cup, it's all about the guys in front of him (the list of goalies who have played in a Cup final since the lockout is revealing). And it wasn't like Huet was even that good to begin with.
True, you don't need a "frontline goalie" to win the Cup. But you do need depth.
And right now, the only players on that team that are untouchable either because of age or contract are Kane, Toews, Hossa, Keith, Campbell, and Huet.
Everyone else is expendable, and necessarily so.
Chicago won't have depth next year. They won't have the Cup at this time, either.
...take solace in these facts:
A) Fans cheering today won't even be watching hockey at this time next year.
B) The Blackhawks will be dismantled this summer, having only 14 players signed to the cap limit, already.
C) Chicago may not even make the playoffs.
D) The Wings will win the division next year.
E) I know more about hockey than any Chicago fan who brings up the subject.
LoL yes, I'm a Wings fan living in Chicago too and while I'm no hockey expert, I'd say my knowledge is more than the average fan, especially the ones in Chicago. A lot of my co-workers say "i dont even like hockey but i'll root for Chicago because I want to go to a parade." That's nice and all but the bandwagon will be letting off very soon.
I wish Detroit would have beaten San Jose and faced the Black Hawks, they had a very good chance of beating them. Enough coulda, shoulda, woulda though because Jiri is back, so is Lidstrom, and hopefully a healthy, well rested Detroit team is out there and ready to kick some ass!
Congrats Blackhawks, you are on pace to win another Stanley Cup in 2059
They are going to lose a lot to FA this summer, hopefully the Red Wings can stay healthy and make a run next year.
I wonder if Kane took a cab home last night
As of 9am, Kane was still out partying.
To be honest, I'm actually way less cheesed off by the Blackhawks winning the Cup than I thought I'd be. That'll probably change if/when Chicagoans start a Detroit Sucks chant at the parade like they're occasionally wont to do, but in a way it's nice to see that the Blackhawks are officially back after all those years of horrible mismanagement.
I have no feelings either way about Philly, but I am glad Pronger lost.
This double blows. Hossa wins after whoring himself to the last three contendors and its the Hawks!
As a Devils fan it's tough to see John Madden with another team. Though I'm pleased with the outcome. Love that it happened in Philly.
I'm really proud of the guys last night. Seeing JR break down almost did it for me (no tears, but man did I have a huge smile on my face). Roenick went emotional because this team accomplished something he did not, and never will. He said that he would only touch the Stanley Cup when he won it, and he's never going to do that.
When he was nearing tears, JR said "To that kid who was crying as I left the ice in Chicago Stadium in 1992 after game 4 (the hawks got swept for the cup) I'm sorry, but I hope now, 18 years later, you have a smile on your face."
I wasn't that kid, But i did have a red, Blackhawks 27 jersey when I was growing up.
Sure, next year will be different, and this year is over, but we're the Stanley Cup Champions for the first time in my life, and I get to enjoy a professional championship for the first time since i was 11 (98 Bulls... I'm a cubs fan so 2005 doesnt count for me) and I'm going to celebrate and be proud.
The 2nd most favorite thing for me was seeing the Hawks get ready for their team picture with the cup. They jumped around and surrounded the trophy just like every team I ever played on for any tournament we won. It was surreal to see that grown men act just like I did as a child.
Congrats Hawks, I'm just sad that I wont be home for the parade.
Congrats to our fellow Original-6 team. Welcome back to relevance, enjoy your cup.
Now it's on like Donkey Kong.
Go Wings!
Congratulations....I don't like you guys, but there was no doubt this year who the best team in the NHL was. Well done, enjoy it.....
I was surprised the Caps went out to quick, I thought for sure they would cause some damage. I know everyone hates Ovechkin but I like the guy, he's an ass kicker.
I thought Washington was going to go farther.....but you do not win in hockey without good goaltending and solid defense....and I do not think the Capitals have a defense that is worth a damn. Sure Mike Greene can score and since he puts up points he gets the Norris Trophy, but he is not a defensive defensman that can get the job done in the playoffs. He was terrible in the Montreal series. They need to rework some things to realistically contend for the cup instead of being mid 90's Red Wings teams that score alot, win alot in the regular season, and go nowhere in the playoffs.
...than seeing the cup in pittsburgh again. or in one of those damn disneyland expansion markets.
I'm a diehard Wings fan but I'm happy Hossa finally won a cup. We all knew going into 2008-09 that we could only afford 1 year with him, and he tried hard for us. I can't fault his playoff performance when it was revealed he had a separated shoulder or whatever for most of it. Injuries hurt us last playoffs just as they hurt us in this year's regular season. (re: Nick Lidstrom's "nearly catastrophic" testicular injury in Conference Finals vs. Chicago).
Hossa has always been a gentleman about it all; I don't think I've ever heard him act otherwise in the media and his fellow players all say he's a good guy (except for a few select d-bag Penguins). The Wings players said he was a good man, and I'm inclined to believe them. And so, good for Hossa. :)
Plus, did we really want Chris Pronger to win the Cup?
I still can't quite decide how I feel about this. I'm a native Detroiter and was 10 when the Wings brought it home in 97, so my loyalty to them is second only to the Wolverines. But Chiocago is my adopted hometown, and I guess I'm glad they succeeded. Oh, the upheaval.
I'm not sure which is more shocking, actually: the Blackhawks finally winning the Cup again or the Flyers losing their SIXTH consecutive Stanley Cup Finals.
