We all knew this was coming at some time. We knew the Chicago Blackhawks would not be on top forever. The old adage of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith equals a playoff team is over.
The salary cap was put in place for that very reason. When the ’Hawks were at the height of their dominance they had depth scoring to supplement elite scoring, puck possession, good defense and good goaltending. The days of having Teuvo Teravainen, a good Patrick Sharp and Antoine Vermette as the third line are long gone.