Canadian Idol leads the Blackhawk Hit Parade!!

                    You don't spit into the wind and you don't mess around with the Captain!!


     The Defending Stanley Cup Chicago Blackhawks emabark on another 'must win' weekend staring tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes at the United Center. The Blackhawks have caught fire as of late reeling off 6 wins in a row and entrenching themselves squarely in the middle of the Western Conference playoff picture. Captain Johnathan Toews has put the team squarely on his back continuing his February performance as the leagues top "3 star" performer by racking up 2 more stellar goals Wednesday night. Whatever Cap'n Serious is eating for breakfast let's order a warehouse full!! Michael Frolik acquired from the Florida Panthers for Jack Skille two weeks ago finally found the scoresheet with a goal and 2 assists. We knew he was a good addition and maybe it just took a little time to get used to Chicago cooking. Overall the Hawks have found their team rhythym again and they look like the team they were last year while looking to be primed for a deep playoff run. The astounding aspect here is that despite going 7-1-2 over their last 10 games and currently sitting in 4th position for the playoffs, there are 11 Western Conference teams within 16 points of each other!  Parity has spread from the NFL to the NHL!!  The Western Conference at least. The 4th place Blackhawks are within 9 points of division leading Detroit, not insurmountable, yet only 2 points away from being out of contention!!  In the immortal words of Chris Farley, "Holy Schniekies!!"  Here is solid proof of the league salary cap at work. The league wants and has established parity.
 
 Parity now levels the playing field in the NHL as it has in the NFL, to the point where late in the season it's still anyone's championship to win. The Bears, the Packers as well as the bulk of the NFC were perfect examples of this. Green Bay was one loss away from not even making the playoffs let alone going on to win Superbowl XLV...This makes it more fun for the fans as far fewer are resigned to watching their respective teams play out the string while looking toward next year. The fans stay involved to the bitter end as we Bear fans did. SO close yet so far away!!
     
     Back to the situation in the NHL's Western Conference; The Blackhawks have been victims of and benefactors of the salary cap  in the same year. The Hawks are a team loaded with young talent and Chicago GM Stan Bowman was faced with an unenviable position ( I'm sure there weren't too many tears falling for us outside of Chicago!!) after winning the Stanley Cup last June; too many Blackhawks deserved a pay bump and there just wasn't enough space under the cap to accomodate everyone, so Bowman swapped, allocated and allowed guys to leave via free agency while picking up less experienced players and prospects in return. 10 roster spot changed overall. Too much change for most teams to digest especially after a shorter layoff than usual, but  thanks to parity the Blackhawks will not have to amass 112 points as they did last year and maybe not even the 95 it usually takes to clinch the 8th and final spot. It is hard to point at a Western Conference team and say, "this is a gimme game." all 15 are capable of putting up a formidable fight on any given night. Some may argue the cap eliminates the dynasty runs seen in the past. Let's face it though, those runs are only fun for the team and it's fans enjoying them. The rest of the league is left to play catch up typically with less revenue and resources.The salary cap is doing it's job evening out revenue and the playing field (surface here) even if it has hurt the Blackhawks chances at repeating this year. Nobody has repeated as Stanley Cup Champions since the 1996-1998 Redwings. Can the Hawks buck the trend?? Thanks to the mastery of Stan Bowman and his dad Scotty  we have a really good shot. We will find out in the weeks to come. First things first, the Blackhawks face 2 more must win games this weekend against Carolina at home and in Toronto. After Saturday, the  Mighty Blackhawks only have 16 games remaining with only 6 on home ice. It's gonna be an uphill skate for sure but we can feel a whole lot more confident with Toews leading the way!!  The Puck hits the United Center ice at 7:30 tonight.......Lets GO HOXX!!!!    Dave Kuhlman   bullsbearscubssoxhoxx    dave@onyerleft.com

Post Note:   I had the distinct privelege to be a guest on the Artie Clear Sports Talk Show last night. Artie hosts Philadelphia's (Give our puck back Pronger!!) most popular sports talk radio show on WiFi 1460 AM every weekday from 5-8pm EST. Artie graciously afforded me 12 minutes to rant about my beloved Chicago Blackhawks and the ever muddled NHL playoff picture. Artie is an expert on all things sports. Being a first time guest,  I was a tiny bit nervous going in but that vanished the second I was on the line with Artie. He is a welcoming host who makes his guests feel as though they are already good buddies just chatting about sports over a cold beer in his living room. It was a great experience and I truly hope I'm invited back. Thanks again to Amy Williams, Artie's ace producer who scouted me out and picked me for the show and the whole crew at the Artie Clear Show!! (http://www.theartieclearshow.com/)