Antti- Climactic

Well that's it. It seems like just yesterday that the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in one of the most %@#&ed up endings in playoff history. With amazing scoring, all-star defence, heroic goal-tending and a young core, the Hawks were looked at as one of the most complete championship teams ever. This was just a couple of months ago.

Now, they still have one of the best players in the game (Jonathan Toews) and still most of their core (Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook) intact, but besides them, this is a very different team. Dustin Byfuglien, a top end power forward and all-around beast, is in hockey purgitory with the Thrashers. Kris Versteeg, an incredible third liner, is trapped under the media microscope, and the unrealistic and just plain stupid expectations in Toronto.And Antti Niemi is now a UFA, and will have many teams interested. Adam Burish, Andrew Ladd, John Madden, Ben Eager etc;, all are also gone. Seeing "Dynasty Death" because of the salary cap is sad, but in a strange way makes everything kind of fair.

Arriving in Chicago is Marty Turco, the veteran who expects a cup with Chicago, and who can blame him? Even without all these guys, would anyone be surprised if Chicago still repeated as champs? I wouldn't.

The situation with Niemi is unnecessary,  but it is really common. Players get so caught up in their own success, they ask for ridiculous amounts of cash. This has not only happened with Niemi, but with Afinogenov and Kovalchuk too. The biggest difference between them and Niemi, is the team success. The worst part of this is Afinogenov went to the KHL and Kovalchuk considered it. If Niemi hops on the boat to Russia, the NHL would lose another very good player, and people would say that the KHL is a legitimate threat to the NHL. The only reason it is, is because KHL teams offer the ridiculous amounts of cash that many  players desire.