If there is one thing that no longer blows in the Windy City, it's the Blackhawks.
Who knew?
Yes, kids, it's safe to wear that jersey you picked up from the half-price rack about a decade ago.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is your new NHL. Somewhere, Gary Bettman is smirking, peace and harmony among the former league weak sisters now realized.
Heading into play last night, the Bruins and Predators were inside the playoff cutline while Chicago, Phoenix, Buffalo and the Islanders were within four points in their respective conferences.
Chicago, Buffalo, Boston and the Islanders?
Hurry, someone help me. I'm stuck in 1983.
Times have changed in Chicago. No longer are they out of playoff contention by the first week of November. No, now they know how to win.
Or, as Blackhawks head coach Denis Savard puts it, Commit to the#$%!@ Indian.
So tonight more than 22,000 are expected to flock to the United Center as the Hawks tip their cap to longtime greats Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull. Yes, 22,000 - there is not an extra ‘0' stuck in there by mistake.
Since the NHLPA and owners kissed and made up to end the lockout, Chicago has wallowed near the bottom in NHL attendance but, because they play in one of the largest markets in the league, the Blackhawks weren't eligible for a handout from the league's revenue-sharing plan.
The New NHL. Parity, prosperity and, in some cases, charity.
Now, we're not supposed to talk about all things sacred, but Bill Wirtz, rest his soul, wasn't the most popular guy in Chicago. To be fair, the crusty, cantankerous head of the Sinking Good Ship Blackhawk simply didn't live long enough to see his foundering charges rise from the abyss.
Then again, judging by the reaction of Blackhawk fans during a tribute to Wirtz, he isn't exactly missed. They were, uh, anything but silent.
But when you haven't won a playoff series since Alanis Morissette won Album of the Year , things have to get better. There is nowhere to go but up. Or out of business.
See, this is the way to build a championship in the new NHL. Suck for a few years, hit the jackpot in the draft, make the playoffs. Simple. Right Pittsburgh and Washington?
Hearing that, Toronto?