Look to the Past for Comfort

It's no secret that we are struggling with cap issues. Despite getting rid of nearly our entire third and fourth lines, we are still in a bind. How can we feel god about next season right now when we have lost the vast majority of our role players? Simply by looking back at this last season for comfort.

Lets not forget that this team endured a lot on their way to the cup. With Hossa out, the 'Hawks started the season with the team that got t the Western Conference Finals the previous year minus the number one goalie and one Jesus H. Havlat. The team did just fine without his point leader form the previous season and the man that replaced him bouncing between first and second place in the West. Not only were the 'Hawks missing a key scorer, Bolland struggled to do anything before deciding to get back surgery. Minus two key players, the team didn't miss a beat.

Then there is the fact that this team had every reason to run out of gas. Just in case having the most back-to-back games wasn't enough, all five Olympic players played in the medal games. Keith was accused of gassing late in the '08-'09 series. How would he do in '09-'10? He would only log a ton of minutes and enjoyed an Olympic "break" by playing the maximum amount of games en route to a gold medal. Instead of gassing, he got to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup and the Norris Trophy at the end of the season. Toews was dealt the same schedule while earning the title of best forward in the Olympics and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Then there was Patrick Kane. People wondered how his season would go after getting into some legal trouble in the offseason. He proved to be impossible to remove from the puck at times en route to leading the team in goals and assists.

So, did we lose nearly all of our role players this offseason? Yes. Are we in the middle of cap crisis? Pretty much. Will these things prevent the 'Hawks from being the team to beat. Absolutely not. If we lose Niemi, we start the season with the exact same goalie situation we had this past season. Struggling to fill out the roster isn't fun, but it's no need to panic. This team proved that bumps in the road don't keep them from winning games.