This is a moment that will never get old if you’re a hockey fan. Watching the Stanley Cup Champions hoist the cup high above their heads, skating around to bask in the glory of FINALLY earning a trophy that has long been called the toughest to earn in all of professional sports.
Damn it. Alexander Ovechkin just gave Barry Trotz the Stanley Cup, and I’m getting emotional.
Watching a player like Ovi win the cup tonight is a really cool scene, let alone the fact that the Washington Capitals have just won their first ever Stanley Cup in 44 years.
Remember when we got this? Remember how odd the first one in 49 years ended? What about when Jeremy Roenick got emotional in the postgame coverage? How about the second one? Did you ever think the Hawks would pull that one off when Q pulled Corey Crawford with two minutes left? How much beer was dumped on your head that night? Or hell, do you remember where you were for the third one? Could there be anything more special than winning a third cup in six seasons in front of the home crowd at United Center?
With all of the questions surrounding the Chicago Blackhawks heading into the 2018-2019 season, it’s clear that the championship window is nearing it’s end. Heck, some people believe that the window has already closed. But as I sit here and watch the Washington Capitals celebrate what they’ve been trying to accomplish since 2006, I can’t help but think that Chicago is not done yet.
Given the unpredictability of Corey Crawford’s situation and an upswing of young talent with names like Vinnie Hinostroza, Alex DeBrincat, and Nick Schmaltz, there are lots of things to look forward to in the 2018-2019 season. The salary cap is going to allow Stan Bowman to look for a few more key names to add to the roster, and the Rockford IceHogs showed us there is a lot of talent waiting to join the NHL sooner rather than later.
Don’t forget how much fun that 2010 season was, and just how quickly the Hawks were able to put together another championship caliber team just three seasons later. While it’s a bit too optimistic to start talking about a fourth Stanley Cup in nine seasons, it’s a pretty safe bet to think we will be enduring another postseason of emotional and psychological stress as Hawks fans in 2019. It’s safe to say we would be more than happy to have to endure that feeling once again, instead of watching someone else experience it from our couches.
Until then, it’s perfectly acceptable to remember how much fun the last nine years have been.