Chicago Blackhawks Hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup With Overtime Win

Forty-nine years of pain, misery and suffering is over for the Chicago Blackhawks and the future looks very bright indeed.

Patrick Kane scored the game winner in overtime to lead Chicago to its first Stanley Cup victory since 1961, and now the Blackhawks can breath a huge sight of relief.

Their Stanley Cup drought is over, and a dynasty may be beginning.

I can’t write any word of what I’m about to say without biting my tongue. I was rooting for the underdog Philadelphia Flyers the entire way, not just because I’m a fan of Chris Pronger or that I like an underdog. The Flyers were built like a real hockey team – big, burly, great passing, strong skating and deep team chemistry.

They were a very easy team to get behind and cheer for, because the architect for the team built them in the fashion of old school hockey.

The Stanley Cup win for the Chicago Blackhawks signals a new movement in the NHL, that is coupled by the Penguins’ victory from last year. Speed, finesse and youth are taking over the league by storm.

Which almost makes it fitting that 22-year old Jonathan Toews banked the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP. What a year it’s been for Toews. An Olympic gold medal, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Stanley Cup Championship. You can’t get much better than that when you’re a team captain who puts others ahead of yourself.

Toews was the favorite in Conn Smythe betting heading in to the series.

Aside from the 31-year old Marion Hossa, who most certainly won’t have to hear about the “Hossa Hex” anymore, the Chicago Blackhawks are a very crisp, young team. Patrick Kane is just 21-years old, Brent Seabrook is 25 and line mate Duncan Keith is only 26.

The Blackhawks are built around a very young core so when words like “dynasty” and “repeat champions” emerge next year, don’t be surprised.

Chicago has done everything right to build from within, striking gold in the NHL draft and adding the right players to compliment their core roster. When you pan out across the Western Conference, not too many teams can stack up against the growing confidence of Chicago.

The Detroit Red Wings are getting older by the minute, and the Joe Thornton experiment in San Jose has been a miserable failure.

The Vancouver Canucks and L.A. Kings are still a few pieces away from being complete teams, while Phoenix and Colorado still have a ways to go to prove that they’re legitimate playoff contenders.

The landscape of hockey in the new era of the NHL is powered by a youth movement that is exciting to watch and reliable on the betting line.

For old time hockey fans like myself, this signals a passing of the guard from and era of tough, physical teams to franchises built like the Chicago Blackhawks.

With the Penguins and Capitals in the Eastern Conference furthering the youth movement on the flip side, and Chicago doing their part in the West, the NHL is in very good hands, whether I like it or not.