HawksFan28
Registered User
- Apr 2, 2006
- 194
- 0
One just can't use Chicago (or L.A. for that matter) as an example for a future rebuild. There's no way of telling what would have been had the youngsters not won a cup in 2010, while at the same time the team built in 2010 was something we probably will not see again in a Salary Cap world. For that matter, perhaps beyond 80's dynasties (but not really even those teams) I don't remember a team like that in NHL history.
It wasn't just a good roster, there's tons of great rosters that have come and gone. It was just a menacing balance of incredible talent, speed, depth and grit in the forward lineup combined with TWO of the best (if not THE best at the time) puck moving/transition Dmen along with two good defensive Dmen....add that to mediocre goaltending and an weak third pairing. I encourage anyone who recently became a fan to watch highlights of that team, especially the Calgary game which is a perfect example. They were sloppy, unstructured, and at the same time unstoppable...??? You can't really say that about the huge majority of great teams in the past, most of which very well coached with structure & a game plan. It had to be infuriating as an opponent to get all these great chances, exploit the weaknesses in a lack of team D, then still watch more pucks go into the back of your own net. You name it...the cycle, down low, fast break, any offensive scheme in the book they could pull out on any shift. You can't out trap them, can't box them in or vice versa, get beat if you're passive or aggressive. You can have them on the ropes...and they'll just score a couple more goals.
EASILY the most exciting hockey team in decades.
We won't see a group like that again which is why the great purge was such a bummer, but also a necessity for a healthy league. It wasn't until the core & it's surrounding parts became a disciplined system-first team that they won another cup. Something that may not have happened without the experience of being a part of 2010 as well as losing to a team like Phoenix in 2012.
That Calgary game is when it all began.... That game gave that team the confidence to know they could do anything - after that the Cup was theirs.
