Well it’s late June and another NHL hockey season has come and gone.  Earlier this week, the Chicago Blackhawks captured their third Stanley Cup Championship in the past six years earning them the modern-day dynasty franchise title.  A big congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks who defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.  In our Stanley Cup predictions for this year we actually had picked the Blackhawks to win the Cup, however we had them win over the New York Rangers rather than the Lightning whom we had the Rangers dispose of in the Easter Conference final.

Chicago Blackhawks 2015 Stanley Cup Champs

Here is look at some of the reasons why the Blackhawks again were able to capture the Stanley Cup in 2015.

1. Hockey Talent – make no mistakes this is a talented team.  There are a number of all stars on this team and this team is composed of players that have great hockey sense.  Still a lot of talent on this team from Captain Johnathan Toews and Patrick Kane to Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.
2. Leadership – this team has a great coach in Joel Quenville and is led by Captain Jonathan Toews.  Captain Serious for a reason.  This guy has laser beam focus and when he is focused look out as he can beat you by himself on some nights (see Anaheim Ducks).  Great leadership and veteran presence on this team.
3. Great Goaltending – you know Corey Crawford has three Stanley Cups and this guy is like the most underrated goaltender in the NHL.  Maybe people will pay attention to him now.  The guy was great when he had to be.  There is a reason as to why the Bolts and guys like Steven Stamkos were shut down in the Finals.  The last line of defense, Corey Crawford played extremely well for this team and could have easily won the Conn Smythe trophy had it not been for the epic performance of Duncan Keith.
4. Duncan Keith – speaking of which, Duncan Keith did have an epic performance for the Blackhawks in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  He played a massive amount of minutes always against the opposition’s best players.  In fact based on the amount of minutes played, Duncan Keith played against most players and kept them in check.  Twenty one points in twenty three playoff games.  Five multi-point games, shots in twenty of twenty three playoff games, this ex-Kelowna Rocket dominated and well deserved the Conn Smythe trophy as Playoff MVP.
5. Solid Coaching – the Blackhawks lead by Quenelle have a very strong coaching staff.  They can motivate their team when needed and they know when to roll with which players.  From Assistant coaches Mike Kitchen and Kevin Dineen to goalie coach Jimmy Waite to Kevin Delaney (skating and conditioning) this team has a great coaching squad in place.
6. Management – to assemble a team of players and coaches such as this you have to give credit to the management team.  This goes from owner/chairman Rocky Wirtz, to Stan Bowman VP and General Manager to Norm MacIver Assistant GM and others this team has very a very competent management team.  (Edmonton Oilers take serious note).
7. Hockey Fans – and of course ultimately what makes this franchise a top notch franchise is the people that pay to watch the games, the people who buy Chicago Blackhawks jerseys and caps, the hockey fans.  The Chicago Blackhawks have great hockey fans.  Just ask the players, they have some of the greatest fans out there.  Chelsea Dagger indeed.

Well done Chicago.  As a fan of the Edmonton Oilers I hope that one day we can experience the tremendous success that your franchise has had in recent years.  I like the fact that you are a modern day hockey dynasty.  Parity in the NHL for this hockey fan is not something I prefer.