June 15, 2015. The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning to win their third Stanley Cup in six seasons, and sixth in franchise history. That joyous night at the United Center capped off what was arguably the best run by a Chicago Sports team outside of the Michael Jordan Bulls. While there was hope they could do it again soon with that core led by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, it was not to be.
It’s now been a full decade since that last championship. Fans have gotten so used to saying, “The Blackhawks’ success within the past decade,” but now that has passed. There is a lot to put into perspective.
Chicago Blackhawks’ success plummeted fast after 2015
Make no mistake, winning a championship is incredibly hard, let alone three in six years. Add those Cup runs to the other playoff appearances where they went deep in 2009 and 2014, that’s so much extra hockey being played by those players who were part of several or all of those campaigns. With that said, the Blackhawks post-2015 have not come close to reaching that glory.
Their last two legit shots were in 2016 and 2017, but they lost in the first round both years to the Blues and Predators. It was especially painful in 2017 when the Blackhawks were the top seed in the West with 109 points and got swept. Their only other playoff appearance was in 2020 via the COVID bubble play-in round against the Oilers, only to lose to the Golden Knights in five games. That team had no chance at a deep run.
Overall, since the last Cup, the Blackhawks are 324-367-91 with 739 points and finished last in their division five times. They’ve had five different head coaches and will be on their sixth when the season begins with Jeff Blashill behind the bench. Recent down years have been rebuilding years, but it does not make it any more fun to endure.
Putting it all into perspective.
Let’s be real; Blackhawks fans (new and die-hard) were spoiled for 6-8 years. Watching generational hockey talents make a once irrelevant franchise into the hottest ticket in Chicago was more than most could ask for. It arguably made those following seasons when they either got extinguished fast in the playoffs or didn’t make it easier to tolerate.
Time keeps marching on, though, and those Cups are getting smaller in the rearview mirror with every passing moment. Young fans, even many teenagers now, have no recollection of those Cup runs. It’s a humble reminder of how fast time goes and how far removed we are now from the glory days. Safe to say those playoff games at the United Center are missed, and the fans who experienced it want to feel what they felt a decade-plus ago.
It’s even felt within Chicago sports lore; the team that was once the talk of the town saw recent notable events, including the firing of Luke Richardson and the hiring of Blashill, as seemingly mere footnotes in the news. The growth of the fanbase from the dynasty is still felt, as games are still well attended, but the local media coverage and the days of storefronts and homes decked with Blackhawks merch have not been anywhere near the same in a while.
Now the hope is for the future. With a lot of young talent on the team and coming up, hopefully, new memories will be created sooner rather than later. We don’t want to be talking about the last glory days being 20+ years ago.
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