Blackhawks: Looking back on their biggest parties of the decade

Winning a Stanley Cup comes with the added benefit of bringing your city together to celebrate. Capturing three throughout the decade, like the Chicago Blackhawks did, only magnifies the partying.

It all started in 2010, when the Chicago Blackhawks finally overcame their 49-year drought without a Stanley Cup victory.

Finishing the 2009-10 season with 112 points certainly earned some attention and created post-season expectations. Especially since they were only one win away from the final series in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After the Detroit Red Wings eliminated them in the Conference Finals the year prior, the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks made sure to not let their next opportunity slip away.

Needing only 22 games to earn the 16 wins necessary, the Blackhawks capped off a magical 2009-10 campaign by hoisting their first Stanley Cup in nearly half a century.

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Jonathan Toews led the way, as the true captain that he is, winning the Conn Smyth Trophy as the most valuable player throughout that post-season.

And their city showed up to celebrate alongside them, with an estimated 2,000,000 taking part in the party they planned that day.

More Success to Follow

After a few seasons of seeing their Central Division dominance slip away, the 2012-13 Blackhawks came out swinging once that shortened season finally got started in January 2013.

There’s no telling what that Chicago team could have accomplished, had they had all 82 games to prove it. They went 36-7-5 in 48 contests that year, which was good for a league-leading 77 points.

Chicago earned its first Presidents’ Trophy since the 1990s.

They trampled over much of their competition those playoffs, with the exception of their Conference Semi-Finals Round against the Red Wings being their only series that required all seven games to be played.

16 victories later, the Chicago Blackhawks were 2013 Stanley Cup champions and Patrick Kane’s 19 points earned him the Conn Smyth.

Again, millions showed up. Whether throughout the downtown parade or at the rally that concluded it all, their city was there to celebrate.

Destined for Their Dynasty

Having already accomplished two Stanley Cup victories within a four-year span, and constant turnover within their roster as a result, it wasn’t quite clear what this Chicago team had left.

Somehow, the Blackhawks found themselves back in the Conference Finals the following year. After losing that round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, 2014 wouldn’t see them repeat.

Having played as much hockey as this organization had throughout the previous five-year span, and with two Cup victories as validation, it would have been an expected outcome for the franchise to fade away from success for the next little while.

But their dominance was about to evolve into a dynasty.

The 2014-15 Chicago Blackhawks finished in 3rd place of the Central Division. Even after achieving an over 100 point season, they weren’t really expected to do what they did next.

Beating teams of equal or greater season success the whole way through that post-season, Chicago was once again on top of the hockey world as the 2015 Stanley Cup champions after upsetting the Tampa Bay Lighting to rip it away from them.

Highlighting that defense really does win championships, Duncan Keith was awarded the Conn Smyth that year as his play was nothing short of necessary.

As was becoming the norm, an estimated 2,000,000 showed up to party with a Blackhawks team that was right there to do so with them.

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Although official counts for any parade are estimates, it’s safe to say that the Chicago Blackhawks single-handedly brought together millions of people throughout their city this past decade, winning Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015.

We look forward to the next time they give their fans this type of excuse to party. With the current post-season plan in place, and with the Chicago Blackhawks included in the play-in round, who’s to say that couldn’t happen as early as this year?