Only the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup three times over the past 10 years. While the Blackhawks won their three in a more condensed timeframe (three in six seasons), they are now faced with a similar situation as Pittsburgh was in 2012.
There are many similarities between these organizations, and the ‘Hawks can learn something from the path Pittsburgh took to get back to an elite level.
Pittsburgh Penguins’ path to success
Here’s a brief timeline of Pittsburgh’s last 1- years and key milestones:
2008 – First division title in 10 years, lose in Cup Final
2009 – Win Stanley Cup (replaced coach in-season to Dan Bylsma)
2010 – Second-round playoff loss
2011 – First-round playoff loss
2012 – First-round playoff loss
2013 – Conference finals loss
2014 – Second-round playoff loss
Aside from the Conference final year, and the fact they changed the head coach during their Stanley Cup-winning year in 2009, the post-Cup losing seems eerily similar to the current predicament the Blackhawks face.