 For an extended period of time, the Chicago Blackhawks were the forgotten team in the Windy City due to poor performance and, some would say, poor management. However, this Original Six NHL franchise has started a comeback, and as one of the most talented young teams in the league, they are once again one of the hottest tickets in Chicago. Last season was an amazing year for hockey in Chicago. The extremely young Blackhawks piggybacked on the talents of captain Jonathan Toews (34 goals, 69 points) and diminutive playmaker Patrick Kane (25 goals, 70 points); producing a high-powered attack and finishing the season with a 46-24-12 record, which was good enough to place them as the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoff brackets. Behind the solid goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin, this young team seemingly grew up with the entire hockey world as its witness, before falling just short to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings, in a breathtaking Western Conference Finals series. The Chicago Blackhawks carried that momentum into the offseason, first by signing talented free agents Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky away from division archrival Detroit, then further building the team with the addition of dynamic defensive center John Madden, thus bolstering the Hawks with a wealth of talent up front. However, with the loss of Khabibulin, Martin Havlat, and Sami Pahlsson to free agency, the team does have some things to overcome. Even though, due to offseason surgery, the Blackhawks will have to wait until November before they experience the fruits of the Hossa deal, Chicago has a very deep and talented roster which should perform quite well until he arrives. Most would agree that the Chicago Blackhawks have more young talent up front than any squad outside of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Toews, Kane, and Hossa, are dangerous scorers but definitely not the only Hawk weapons. Youngsters Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, and Dave Bolland, all showed up strong last year, and center Patrick Sharp had a career year with 26 goals. Chicago has enough talent to put three strong lines on the ice, and the Blackhawks are bound to be one of the NHL's highest scoring teams. Before going any further, please do not get the impression that Chicago is all offense, because their defense is also quite stout. Take veteran defender Brian Campbell who put up 52 points and a positive +/- ratio, add Cam Barker and rising stars Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and there is plenty of two-way talent on hand to round out the defensive four. A bigger defensive question may be how Cristobal Huet responds as a starter in goal after the departure of Khabibulin. Huet certainly has the talent to perform as a #1 goalie; if he can provide a solid season, then Chicago should be a frequent subject of everyone's Stanley Cup discussions. After their run to the Western Conference Finals, expectations are extremely high in the Windy City. Do you have your Chicago Blackhawks tickets for the United Center to see if the Blackhawks can break the league's longest Stanley Cup drought, and win their first championship in 49 years?
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