Oct 10, 2013
The Chicago Blackhawks have started the 2013-14 season tentatively, just like most defending Stanley Cup champions, but there is no reason to believe any less in the potential for this team to be the first repeat champions since the Detroit Red Wings won it all in 1997 and 1998. Here are three reasons to believe that Chicago will add the 2014 championship to their 2013 title.
Blackhawks’ Star Power
The core to most teams enjoying prolonged success is the play of their best players. Few teams can boast a better set of core elite players than the Blackhawks.
The forward group is led by captain Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp. 25-year old Toews and 24-year old Kane are probably widely considered the long-term core of the roster. Both are capable of being perennial 30+ goal scorers and point per game forwards throughout their NHL careers. They each possess the sort of game breaking offensive ability that is expected of top five forward draft picks.
However, the importance of Sharp and Hossa shouldn’t be under-estimated either. 31-year old Sharp has been valuable to this roster for a long time and his impact after coming back from a long-term injury during the 2013 shortened season and Stanley Cup run has often been under-stated. He led all scorers in the 2013 postseason with 10 goals. Hossa has also endured his fair share of health issues in recent seasons, but the 34-year old is among the game’s very best two-way forwards when at full fitness.
Star power can also be found on the blue line where Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook should return as one of the NHL’s strongest pairs. Their versatility, endurance, skating ability and offensive skill were all on fine display against a very difficult opponent in the Boston Bruins last June. Keith in particular has been criticized since the 2010 championship, he put many of those critics to bed last season and Chicago’s defense generally looks a lot more stable as a result.
Stability
Chicago were perhaps the best example ever of a team struggling to match expectations after a Stanley Cup success when they won it all in 2010 and then laid a pair of duds with easy first round playoff exits in 2011 and 2012. However, compared the ravaging that the 2009-10 team had to undergo, the 2012-13 team has remained relatively intact heading into 2013-14.
Ray Emery departed the crease and will be replaced by veteran Nikolai Khabibulin. The big Russian goaltender was famously a disastrous post-lockout contract for the Blackhawks from 2005-2009, but he should be a pretty serviceable back-up playing behind Corey Crawford.
Meanwhile, the blue line remains completely intact with Mike Kostka earning a regular place on the third pairing and Theo Peckham potentially waiting in the wings.
The forward group is the place of most change, though there was very little. Dave Bolland is a significant loss at the center ice position, though injury problems have plagued him in recent seasons. Meanwhile, Michael Frolik has been a valuable lower line contributor and penalty killer and Viktor Stalberg is highly-skilled providing offensive depth.
Still, Andrew Shaw, Jimmy Hayes, Brandon Saad and Marcus Kruger all have the look of players ready to take on bigger roles and ready to fill the offensive and defensive void left by Bolland in particular.
Experience
The core of this team, especially the earlier mentioned star power is very much intact from the 2010 experience and what happened afterwards. They should be better prepared than any recent roster to tackle the mental and physical demands that a Stanley Cup champion faces when they attempt to achieve that ever so rare feat of a repeat.
