Chicago Blackhawks: 2010s were a decade of a lifetime

The Chicago Blackhawks had the best decade in franchise history in the 2010s. It was the type of decade that you will always remember as a fan.

It is rare for any team to ever have as successful of a decade as the Chicago Blackhawks had in the 2010s. It was all a product of the building they did in the 2000s but it all started to come together right when the decade flipped over from 2009 to 2010. They lost the 2009 Western Conference Finals to the Detroit Red Wings. Little did we know that it was a sign of the very special decade that they were about to be a part of.

They lived up to the hype. They won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015. The three cups in six years are the best run any team had had up to that point during the salary cap era. They also had an extra appearance in the Western Conference Finals in 2014. A fluky game seven-goal by the Los Angeles Kings could have kept them from winning three straight Cups and four in six years. It was truly the golden era of the Chicago Blackhawks organization. They also had lots of other playoff appearances sprinkled in there from 2010 all the way until 2017. Making it to the playoffs in seven straight seasons is almost impossible in today’s NHL and they did it.

It would not have been possible without the cast of characters. The head coach for all of the good years was the legendary Joel Quenneville. He used his systems and strategies to lead this team exactly where they needed to be. He also knew as good as any coach how to get the very best of every player no matter what their skill set was. He deserves a lot of credit for the team getting to where it got during the 2010s decade.

Then there are the players. The dynasty starts and ends with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Those two players define the franchise in the modern era. Kane was more of an offensive-minded playmaker while Toews was a good scorer combined with a great defensive player. They were very different but they each brought something that every championship-caliber team needs. Kane has been the MVP of the league along with the league’s leading scorer. He was also the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) winner during the second Cup run in 2013. Toews has won the Selke Trophy and was the Conn Smythe during the first Cup in 2010.

There were also defensive Stallworth’s like Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Keith is one of the best defensemen in franchise history and Seabrook isn’t far behind him. Keith is a two time Norris Trophy winner and the Conn Smythe winner for the 2015 Cup season. These two led a blue line with other great players over the years like Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya. Corey Crawford and Antti Niemi were the two goalies to win the Cup with the team during the decade and did so in impressive fashion.

There is no doubt that the 2010s were a decade to remember for this team and its fans. It might never be recreated quite like this for them or any team for that matter. Hopefully, the Blackhawks can retool this thing and get it back into the playoffs during the 2020s. It has been a fun decade to follow this team and hopefully, some more good times are ahead.