The most common way to turn around a terrible sports franchise is to acquire better players or bring in a new coach. But in the case of the Chicago Blackhawks, the most important change may have been the passing of team ownership from a father to a son.
By winning Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday night, the Blackhawks have taken a big step toward winning their third Cup in six years. They are a far cry from the team that made the playoffs just once in 10 tries from 1998 to 2008.