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 Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane hoists the Stanley Cup beside teammates Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien. (REUTERS/Shaun Best) |
PHILADELPHIA - Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, say hello to Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
One of the most exclusive clubs in all of hockey has a whole new membership.
The longest drought in National Hockey League history came to stunning conclusion Wednesday night, amidst the orange noise and eventual dismay of the Wachovia Center. Kane scored an overtime goal only he seemed to see go in - his team barely reacted, the Philadelphia Flyers barely reacted, the sold out crowd didn’t react -
and a Stanley Cup 49 years in waiting, needed a moment or two to actually feel as if it has been won.
This was an historic ending for what was once - and is once again - an historic franchise. It took some Chicago dominance, an overtime goal that Michael Leighton should have stopped, a shocking score that ended a remarkable Philadelphia Flyers season and silenced a noisy Wachovia crowd, stunned from a goal that most didn’t see or anticipate scoring.
“This is unbelievable,” Jonathan Toews, the captain, Conn Smythe Trophy winner and spiritual leader of the Hawks, kept repeating over and over. He had dreamed of this night, dreamed of this occurrence. And when it happened, he didn’t really know what to say, couldn’t stop smiling.
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All of this unbelievable for a franchise that did little for 49 years between titles, needed to lose its owner to advance, needed to finish last to become first. And still at the end, the Hawks weren’t sure they had won the Cup or even scored in overtime.
Kane knew - scoring a Sidney Crosby like Olympic goal - but no one else knew or saw it go under Leighton’s pad.
“I didn’t know if it went in so I didn’t celebrate,” said Duncan Keith, the Chicago defenceman who should have won the Conn Smythe. But the 11 Conn Smythe Voters elevated Toews, not so much for his play in the six-game Final, but for what he did in the other three rounds. If there was such a thing as the MVP of the Final itself, that would have gone to Keith. He played that big a part in the Blackhawks victory.
A memorable night for hockey, for history, for Chicago.
Memorable for old and new and maybe in between.
Now instead of Hull and Mikita there is Toews and Kane: Legends in this case begat legends five decades later. Hull was 21, Mikita 20 when they won their only Cup with the Blackhawks. Toews just turned 22 and the overtime hero Wednesday night is only 21.
The connection is of old and young, between championship teams wearing the best uniform in all of sports is more than coincidental.
The best Chicago defenceman in 1961 was Pierre Pilote, 28, on his way to some Norris Trophies. The best Chicago defenceman, Keith, is 26. He should win the Norris Trophy this year.
The Hawks, with Hull, Mikita and Glenn Hall in goal, were expected to win a whole bunch of Stanley Cups: They won one.
The new Chicago champion, with all this youth and some salary cap difficulty, won its first Cup: There should be more on the horizon.
The talk of the 49-year drought can be put to rest now: The Toronto Maple Leafs and Brian Burke, with no championships since 1967, are suddenly on the clock.
The Blackhawks, from beginning of playoffs to end, with few bumps along the way, were a most deserving and impressive champion.
Led by the industrious Toews, who won a Conn Smythe without scoring a goal in the final, still led the champions in scoring in the playoffs. This is the second straight season in which a team with a young captain, young leaders, early draft picks, ended up with hockey greatest prize.
Right to the delayed reaction ending, Chicago was too fast for the Flyers, just as the Blackhawks were for an older Detroit Red Wings team in 1961, led by Gordie Howe.
Hockey history that matters comes around about every five decades in the Second City. Today it feels like something well worth waiting for.