Stanley Cup Re-cap

By Mike Wilson and Josh Bourhis

The Stanley Cup was won last night. The Chicago Blackhawks broke the longest Stanley cup drought in the league. (The streak now belonging to the Leafs. Haha..the Leafs) So with such an event Josh and Mike have teamed up to bring you the best article we can give you. We broke down everything you might have missed in the series as well as re-capping what you didn't.

The Goal

When the game comes down to Overtime you know there’s going to be excitement. And isn't it fit that the goal that won the Stanley cup resembled the one Sidney Crosby scored to win Olympic gold. Yet Patrick Kane's goal was one unlike anyone ever scored in the Finals. His short side shot found Leighton's five hole and the back of the net. It took a while for the ref to give a signal but Kane knew it was in and celebrated skating down the ice. Every play by play guy dreams of making the Overtime, Stanley Cup winning goal, but because of the delay, he didn't get to make it. Doesn't look like Kane will be needing to pay for cab fare for a while.

The Goaltending

The goaltending in this series was below-average, but the media and fans blew it way out of proportion. I mean if they can take their teams to the finals they can’t be that bad. There were some weak goals, but there is at least one in a series no matter what. The thing is, a weak goal isn't a deflection. When a shot is taken a goaltender has seconds to get into position to make the save. That takes practise to get lightning fast reflexes like that. So, when a puck deflects off of a shin pad or a defender's stick close to the net it's almost impossible for the goaltender to change direction to make the save. There were some really nice goals also. In the final game though, I noticed the goaltending was slightly better. Michael Leighton in the first period faced just under 20 shots and only let in one goal. Then Anti Niemi in the third period and the overtime period had some keys aves to "save" the game. The thing the two goalies were lacking was consistency. In the end the goalie who was a little more consistent ended up being the winner of this series.

Good Thing They Won

Get ready for another 49 year drought Chicago, because you guys made some big mistakes with salaries.
Okay, maybe not a 49 year drought but I don't know if we will see a repeat next year, too early to say, but you also need to look to the future and make sure you have enough cap room to stay competitive. As of July 1st, Chicago will have 57.56 Mil locked up on 14 players, compared to the 62 Mil on 24 this year. This leaves the Blackhawks with just over 5 million to sign enough players to have a roster, and still have enough players on your farm team. As an NHL team you want players you drafted and scouted in your system, not players you signed to fill the void. Plus you have the goalie that just helped you win the Stanley cup due up for a contract. He's not under no rookie contract anymore, he's going to want something decent, considering the Hawks are giving Christobel Huet 5 Mil a season. Plus you have a couple Defensemen to sign. Nick Boynton signed a one year deal with Chicago, I doubt he will be back since he's a UFA, but you can't give up a good young defenseman like Niklas Hjalmarsson. Kim Johnsson is a veteran defenseman who got paid 5 Mil last year. He probably won't be expecting more, but surely he won't be expecting much less either. They don't even have the cap room to sign him anyways. On the offensive side contracts are due for the likes of Adam Burish, Ben Eager, Andrew Ladd and John Madden, but I’m not sure about John Madden what his future holds for him since he is 36, signed a one year deal to win the cup and he did. It doesn't look like the Hawks will be able to buy anyone out either.
It's going to be a very interesting off season for Chicago this year that's for sure.

Hossa is No Longer a Punchline

With Hossa now winning his first cup, he is no longer the butt of hockey jokes. After Towes lifted the cup in victory, he handed it to Hossa like Sakic gave it to Ray Borque. In case your wondering why Marian Hossa is his own punchline, it's because he has been to he Stanley Cup Finals twice in the last two years....on the losing team both times.

Well there you go, your Stanley Cup re-cap. Brought to you by both Mike Wilson and Josh Bourhis. Hope you enjoyed it. And make sure to check out our friends at www.oilersnation.com . There just like us, but all Oil, all the time.