These Aren't Your Father's Blackhawks

Today is a great day to be a Blackhawks fan as the team has made sure their superstar tandem of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will not be going anywhere for a long time. The duo of Captain Serious and Showtime will surpass the duo of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita as the greatest pair of teammates in team history, if they haven't already.

Not only should Blackhawks fans be rejoicing over the contract extensions but they should be thrilled about another reminder of how the dark days of Bill Wirtz are far behind this organization. Rocky Wirtz and John McDonough have taken the team's image from the late 90's and early 00's and gleefully murdered it and then hosted Stanley Cup celebrations on its grave. Some of you might not have been around for the ugly years, some of you may have blacked it out but this is not something we would have seen out of Bill Wirtz. Instead of locking up two superstars who are heading into their prime, WWW would have spent the summer looking to trade Toews and Kane for cheaper and inferior players. We saw it with Jeremy Roenick. It happened to Ed Belfour. Hometown hero Chris Chelios was not even immune to Dollar Bill's love of the almighty greenback. Bill Wirtz even let the greatest player in team history, Bobby Hull, go to a completely different league over money.

The Blackhawks of the 80's and 90's were satisfied with just making the playoffs every year. They enjoyed getting a few more gates, pouring a few more beers and filling a few more parking spots every spring but they didn't seem interested in making the big moves to win the Stanley Cup. The current regime is obsessed with winning and upholding a high standard, not only today but also many years down the road. Don't worry yourselves about possible salary cap numbers just enjoy the moment; a moment that never would have happened 20 years. Within the last decade, the Blackhawks have gone from a laughing stock to a model franchise. Enjoy this.....it won't last forever.