Congrats to the Chicago Blackhawks, the model franchise

Last night the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 to earn their 5th Stanley Cup Championship and 2nd since the ’05 lockout. Not every team that wins a Cup should be a model that other teams should try to emulate, but it’s hard if not impossible to argue against following the Blackhawks blueprint.

They have a fantastic owner in Rocky Wirtz, who has quickly erased the memory of his father who almost ran that organization into the ground. They have one of the best general managers in the game in Stan Bowman. And they have one of the best coaches in Joel Quenneville. Their roster talent, leadership and depth speaks for itself.

Hockey fans around the globe should take note at how they’ve rebuilt this great franchise. It starts through the draft first and foremost. Trades second. And filling holes via free agency last. Ownership also stuck by their coach when many fans wanted to see Joel get fired last season when they hit a snag. At that time, their powerplay was flat, he was constantly tinkering with lines, and he wanted to stick with his systems when the fans were demanding change. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Anyway, congrats to their organization, their team and their fans. It’s always good to see an original six team hoist hardware.