Will it hurt to see these two former Chicago Blackhawks possibly win the Stanley Cup?
The Chicago Blackhawks are nowhere close to playing for the Stanley Cup while two former players are.
Defenseman Gustav Forsling will skate for the Florida Panthers when they take on the Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup. Forsling could never crack the Hawks lineup and was eventually traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes also gave up on him, but the Panthers saw something in the blueliner and claimed him off of waivers.
It was just one of the many prudent moves Florida made in getting to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. Fast forward to the present and Forsling has developed into a defenseman worthy of being considered for the Norris Trophy.
Forsling is another example of young talent the Blackhawks' previous front-office leadership allowed to depart. That is a big reason why the franchise has continually missed the playoffs and spent more time contending for the top spot in the Tankathon.com standings rather than atop the Central Division.
The Oilers also have a former Hawk skating for them, albeit a player who was barely here and left in disgrace, in Corey Perry.
Perry played 16 games this season with the Hawks before an off-ice incident caused the team to terminate his contract. After taking some time away from the game, Perry returned this season for the Oilers, scoring eight goals and passing out five assists in 38 games. Perry has skated in 13 postseason games for Edmonton where he has not been much of a factor.
Will seeing one of these former Hawks lift Lord Stanley's Cup hurt?
It will not be fun to see Perry end up lifting the cup after how he left. It will not be because the Hawks cut him.
Perry has never been a beloved figure among the Blackhawks community. He was an enemy of the Blackhawks going back ten years. Joining the Hawks just provided a brief truce, now that he is gone, some out there hope Connor McDavid does not get his cup because his teammate is less than a stellar human being.
However, Perry has already won a Stanley Cup but that was in 2007 and before he became a public enemy of Chicago.
Forsling getting a ring will slightly sting a bit because he is a representative of the previous general manager's impatience with the time it typically takes for a defenseman to develop. The reason it is a slight sting is Forsling played a role in his departure as he battled some injuries. Plus, the Hawks are moving forward with some exciting young players on the blue line such as Alex Vlasic and Kevin Korchinski.
It is not like the defensive unit has no hope of getting back to the days of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Niklas Hjalmarsson without Forsling. Still, it would have been nice had he been given more time with the Hawks to flourish. That can be said for a lot of former players.