You can’t really talk about the Chicago Blackhawks anymore without talking about the championships, and when that era of greatness will end. Is it this year? Next year? Or has it already ended?
The assumption in that discussion has always been clear: Time is running out for the Blackhawks. They’re getting older and slower in a league that’s getting younger and faster. Their salary cap books are fattened up with expensive contracts for those same aging veterans. Eventually, the bottom will fall out, one way or another.
Maybe that’s true. No NHL team is destined to be a contender forever.