THE ART OF WORK BY BOB VERDI
C
ertain similarities exist when comparing the four Stanley
Cups won by the Chicago Blackhawks. But to imply
that there is a straight line connecting all championships
would be a stretch indeed. Different eras are involved,
not to mention the inevitable peaks and valleys attendant
to all professional sports franchises. Quantum leaps forward
automatically convey the obvious: At some point, your team was
down and out. 19
THE ART OF WORK
The 1934 Blackhawks won their Cup the pondered abandoning the Windy City, perhaps
old-fashioned way: Harold “Mush” March, all for St. Louis.
140 pounds of him, scored the only goal of the “Chicago was Siberia,” recalled Glenn Hall.
clinching game in the second overtime. Four “If you were on any of the other five teams in
years later the trip was more unconventional. the league and you acted up, you were always
The Blackhawks won only 14 of 48 regular threatened with being traded to Chicago.” Hall
season assignments, yet vindicated owner Major acted up a bit in Detroit, where sidekick Ted
Frederick J. McLaughlin’s faith in American- Lindsay was trying to organize a union, and both
born players — an unfathomable strategy at the were sent to the Blackhawks in 1957.
time — by winning another Cup, but not before Finances were not a problem because the
leaning on a virtually anonymous goalkeeper. ownership of James Norris and Arthur Wirtz were
Antti Niemi may not have been the No. 1 wealthy and willing. But dollar bills can’t skate,
masked man when the Blackhawks embarked on and the Blackhawks desperately needed bodies.
their storied campaign in October of 2009, but General Manager Tommy Ivan, hired away from
Alfie Moore was not even in the building when the regal Red Wings, wheeled and dealed and
they opened the 1938 final in Toronto, where spent to acquire players, even if it meant buying
Mike Karakas’ broken toe precluded his devotion entire minor league clubs and sponsoring amateur
to duty. There were no “backup” goalies then, organizations. “If I lose $1 million a year,” Norris
so the Blackhawks issued an all-points alert for intoned, “I can only operate the Blackhawks for
Moore. All points led to a local watering hole, two or three centuries.”
where he “joined” the squad two hours before Eventually the pipeline gushed with talented
Game 1, which he won, 3-1 — a crucial triumph youngsters, notably Bobby Hull and Stan
that propelled the Blackhawks to a stirring Mikita, who enriched a roster of some venerable
conquest in the best-of-five series. individuals, none more important than Hall.
After a not-so-brief interlude, the Blackhawks With “Mr. Goalie” a fixture between the
seized their third Cup in 1961 — a highly pipes — working on a streak of 503 consecutive
therapeutic title for the franchise and its fans starts, a record that seems safe for only two or
following a grim decade or so during which the three centuries — the Blackhawks authored a
team’s record and Chicago Stadium attendance first round upset of the Montreal Canadiens, who
deteriorated to such a point that the NHL were seeking their sixth straight Stanley Cup, then
WesternConference Quarterfinals
79
THE QUEST BEGINS
GAME
FIVE
APRIL 24, 2010
The Blackhawks
downed Nashville,
6-5, in overtime of
Game 5, an afternoon
often cited as a
defining moment in
their march toward
a Stanley Cup. The
Hawks trailed, 4-3,
when Marian Hossa
incurred a five-minute
major penalty with
1:03 left in regulation.
The Predators were
that close to taking
a 3-2 series lead
back home, but
Patrick Kane tallied
shorthanded with
just 13.6 seconds left,
and Hossa redeemed [TOP LEFT] Patrick Kane celebrates the Game 5 victory as fans shower the ice with souvenir playoff towels.
himself with the [TOP RIGHT] Tomas Kopecky (left) and Jonathan Toews played key roles in the Hawks’ all-important 6-5 win over Nashville.
overtime winner. [ABOVE & OPPOSITE] After taking a major penalty, Marian Hossa came out of the box to score the dramatic, game-winning goal.
VIEW FROM THE BOOTH
WITH PAT FOLEY: TEAM BONDING
I
think in hockey a feeling of togetherness and “all for one,
one for all” is probably as important, if not more important,
than in any other sport. Hockey is a contact sport, and when
you know the guy next to you has your back, that makes you
bigger, stronger and faster.
When you have a tight team, that team is going to do better than one that is not as cohesive but has
more ability. I’ve seen it dozens of times. Many of our teams in the 1980s had a caring for one another
that was really, really strong. In many of those years, the Blackhawks overachieved. Nobody ever picked
them to win the division; nobody ever picked them to win a playoff round or to beat the Minnesota
North Stars or the St. Louis Blues, but they beat them every year because they were tight. 107
They would fly into the city the day before, and basically the rule was five minutes — you check into
THE QUEST BEGINS
the hotel, throw your bag into the room and meet everyone in the lobby. Everybody on the team went
somewhere. That was the point: Everybody went. Some guys would go for 20 minutes and leave for
dinner over here or to go with buddies over there, but they always started together, and most of them
ended together.
It was a really neat dynamic that they had, and I think now, particularly with the money
involved and, to some degree, with the different cultures involved — hockey being a
world game — it’s harder than ever to do that. But it was striking to me how tight this
year’s group was, and obviously it served them well. It was very evident watching them
play. I think everybody did feel bigger, strong and faster because they knew that the
guy next to him had his back. This group was really, really special.
A lot of that comes from individual character. You have to be somebody who’s
willing to say, “The team is more important than me.” We all know what pro sports
are like today — it’s about me, not we. It’s about my highlight on SportsCenter or
how I showboat after scoring when the camera is on me. I didn’t get the sense that
there was very much of that at all with this group.
I think youth was a factor and the leadership — Jonathan Toews is an extremely
special individual. For a real young guy given the “C,” the way he handled himself was
exemplary.
Was there a tighter group in professional sports than the 2009-10
Blackhawks? I doubt it. I think it speaks to the character of the individuals,
and when you get a good group of people to come together, you have
what we have: champions.
— Pat Foley is the television play-by-by announcer for the Chicago Blackhawks
[TOP] Brian Campbell (left), Troy Brouwer (center) and Jonathan Toews compete in a game of Mario Kart in the players lounge at the team hotel in San Jose.
[ABOVE] From left to right: Patrick Sharp, Colin Fraser and Brent Seabrook chat over morning coffee while waiting outside the team hotel to head to practice.
“IT HAPPENED SO FAST. YOU WANTED
TO BE EVERYWHERE AT ONCE AND WITH
EVERY SINGLE GUY,” SAYS TOEWS.
“THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY THINGS YOU
154
CAN DO TO GRASP THAT MOMENT.”
HOCKEY’S BEST TEAM
186 187
SUMMER OF STANLEY
SUMMER OF STANLEY
“WHAT A DAY, WHAT A RIDE. BEST TIME
OF MY LIFE RIGHT NOW, HAVING THIS
CROWD HERE WITH THE STANLEY CUP...
WHO KNOWS A GOOD DENTIST BY THE
WAY? ANYONE GOT A DENTIST?”
— ALTERNATE CAPTAIN DUNCAN KEITH
1 2 3
210 211
SUMMER OF STANLEY
SUMMER OF STANLEY
6 5 4
The Stanley Cup is just as iconic to hockey as some of Chicago’s famed landmarks are to the Windy City. The silver chalice visited many of Chicago’s most
recognizable attractions, including the Chicago Theatre (1), Buckingham Fountain (2), John Hancock Observatory (3), the shore of Lake Michigan near Adler
Planetarium (4) and the Art Institute (6), plus took a Wendella boat tour of the Chicago River (5). “We were standing unharnessed on top of the sixth-tallest
building in the country,” said Blackhawks photography coordinator Chase Agnello-Dean of the John Hancock Observatory shoot. “All that was separating the
Stanley Cup and us from an 1,100 ft.-plummet was a little buffer zone of steel I-beam.”
