What were you doing six years ago today? If your answer isn’t “confusedly shouting about whether or not Patrick Kane just scored the Cup-winning goal OH WAIT HE TOTALLY DID,” then that’s unfortunate.
You could look back to 1934, 1938, 1961, and… that was it. Three Stanley Cups is more than a lot of teams have, but it was all the Chicago Blackhawks sat at for some time. For 49 years, actually – which is a hell of a drought.
Until six years ago on this day – low key at first, until you realized what just actually happened and then nearly five decades of pent-up celebration got its chance to come alive.
Two Cups have followed since then, the continuation of a modern-day dynasty – but they all have to start somewhere, and the beginnings are incredible. In 2010, we didn’t know it was going to be the first of three Stanley Cups in six years: we just knew the Hawks had won again, and in that moment, it stood alone.
No comparing to a 2013 or 2015 team. Just a journey over the Nashville Predators, once again beating the Vancouver Canucks into submission, sweeping the San Jose Sharks to really take things off, and finally, overcoming the Philadelphia Flyers. A time when Dustin Byfuglien was a Chicagoan hero, when Jonathan Toews was coming off an incredible Olympics and had the best mutton chops anyone could ask for, when Duncan Keith was just starting to really take the entire league by storm.
When Marian Hossa finally completed his long quest of getting his name on the Cup, when Brian Campbell was undeniably a crucial part of the team, when guys like Dave Bolland and Troy Brouwer were all known for being Blackhawks, nothing else.
Before Kris Versteeg bounced around everywhere, when Niklas Hjalmarsson was still relatively unknown, when Andrew Ladd provided the experience only he and all three other guys (Hossa, Tomas Kopecky, and John Madden) could, because everyone else was playing in his first-ever Stanley Cup Final.
Before we knew what was to come for this franchise.
That was special.