Blackhawks Parade, Rally On Thursday Morning
From the Blackhawks on Tuesday afternoon:
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City of Chicago will celebrate the 2015 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks beginning at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 18, with a parade followed by a rally at Soldier Field.
“The City of Chicago is so proud of the Blackhawks, which is why we are going to throw them a celebration that only Chicago can throw – a celebration worthy of a hockey dynasty,” said Mayor Emanuel.
The parade route will run along Monroe Street, beginning at Jefferson Street all the way to Michigan Avenue. A rally will be held afterwards at Soldier Field, which will be a free, ticketed event.
UPDATE: Free tickets to the celebration rally with the Chicago Blackhawks team and the coveted Stanley Cup trophy at Soldier Field will be made available on Wednesday, June 17, at 12 noon at www.ticketmaster.com. There is a limit of four tickets per person..
Grand Marshal: Mr. Rufus (the Voice of Doom no longer!)
We had Versteeg rapping in 2010 and Crawford dropping F-bombs in 2013 … I wonder what will happen Thursday? :)
I hope the turnout is as good as it was in 2010 and 2013, and the weather cooperates.
Ain’t life as a Hawks fan grand!
Man I envy you Windy City residents. I would kill to be there to see the spectacle and just soak it all in.
Still in shock here. In a good way. 2010 made me happy and relieved the drought was finally over. 2013 was satisfying. 2015 is just….I’m not really sure. Proud I think, but in many ways this was the best cup of all of them. Maybe because it was at home. I dunno.
So happy for these guys. After the Anaheim win my cocky finals prediction was Hawks in 4 or 5, but I was worried when the Bolts refused to go away in the first 3. I am just completely in awe of what this hockey team can do when the chips are down. The 3 straight against the Wings in 2013 was mind blowing but this years playoff run had to take the cake. Who would have predicted 4 straight over Minny?…wtf. Didn`t think they had enough team toughness to get past Anaheim but in typical Hawks fashion….
John Toews is a god. I might have to finally retire my 9, 18 and 28 jerseys and buy a 3rd JT. Best hockey player in the world right now. Well done Captain. Well damn done.
Lots of folks will come out for the parade, but the deal with the final rally being at Soldier Field? Hmmmmmm……that could be interesting. I guess the park already has some kind of commitment that doesn’t allow the rally to be there again.
Soldier Field holds, I think, 65,000 seat-wise. I believe I heard there were going to be 80,000 of the free tickets to get into the stadium. Sounds odd logistically, but here’s hoping they make it all work.
Go Blackhawks!!!
Not sure why my post is awaiting moderation. Must be some tag word or bot thingy.
Go Blackhawks!!!
We fans of the revered ‘Indian Head’ are indeed living in rare and unforgettable times. I won’t ever forget these moments.
Watching NHL Network right now and LV odds are already out for next season…Hawks are fav’s at 7/1.
What an interesting summer this will be.
One last time until next year…GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Been waiting five years for Verbeauty’s sophomore album. Don’t let me down #23
Heard Scotty Bowman on NHL Radio Power Play show this evening discussing the signing of Artemy Panarin. Bowman inferred (stated) that it was through the efforts of Barry Smith that the Hawks were able to secure his services. Lots of upside per Scotty Bowman. Bowman also said that he stopped by the office late afternoon today and found Stan, Norm Maciver, and others working on “next year”. Bowman talked about several prospects “in the minor league pipeline”, but it seemed Denault was a name he kept coming back to during the radio conversation . . . For what that is worth?
I can only imagine the mental stamina that this core group has to go deep so often over the last several years-to realize that you have to play at a level for 80 games to get into the playoffs-not easy in the West–and then know that you will have to sacrifice physically for two more months, grinding it out with minor and not so minor injuries?
This is what Toews, Kane, Seabrook, Keith. Hossa, Sharp and Hammer have provided. (it may be the ‘generational’ )
Hopefully this parade celebration and dynasty label won’t go to their head too much. I feel bad for these guys come October. I can’t imagine how hard it is to have in your head that you have to play about 102 games to get to the point where they were just at. I’m always amazed that this group always comes to play as often as they do (despite their tendencies for a rough month generally in March or Feb)
Sioux thanks for the tidbits. Yeah, Barry Smith coached over there (Russia) so he has some connections. Stan Bowman mentioned the same thing in an interview – he pretty much gave all the credit to Barry Smith and the Blackhawks European scout.
They love Danault and I think he’s the 4th line center next season. His compete level is really high and he’s a great team guy. I still think McNeill gets traded by next weekend but we’ll see, I don’t want to predict.
As an aside, I would love to see an interview with Terevainen regarding Timonen, how much he helped him, etc. Don’t know if we’ll get that insight but since it’s time to pay up now it’d be nice to see if there were any fringe benefits. One of the locker room guys told a trusted buddy of mine that Teuvo was stuck to Timonen like white on rice, picking his brain, learning, soaking it in, etc.
There is, however, no way Bowman and staff made that trade for purely sentimental or fringe benefit purposes. They thought Timonen could help on the ice … well they were largely wrong on that front although he wasn’t terrible in the last three games of the finals. I’d have to call it an “all’s well that ends well” trade.
The Vermette and Desjardins trades were clear winners – those two guys were big contributors.
re: Timonen deal – let’s all keep in mind that, when Bowman made the deal to bring Timonen here, Rozsival was healthy & TvR was rehabbing in Rockford. If the Blackhawks had both of them healthy for the entire postseason, Timonen is a damn fine 6-7 defenseman heading into the playoffs; look at the stipulations on the second pick Bowman sent to Philly. But you cannot predict circumstances, and it’s a credit to the Hawks top 4 dmen that they won the Cup while coming up w/ a bottom pair from Timonen, TvR (who hadn’t played in 2 months), Rundbald & Cumiskey. And I liked what I saw from TvR in the Final and think it speaks to his future w/ the organization.
I too liked what I saw from TvR in the Finals. His biggest issue will be to stay healthy, and as you said Tab no one can predict circumstances so you need depth and a lot of it.
As it stands now, they have a lot of young depth on defense but until next week I’m just going to enjoy the parade, celebrate, and have one hell of a good time!
My 85 going on 86 year old dad watched every single game this year. Every one. He picked out two seats in 1957 at the Stadium … 1st row 1st balcony Sect. P and kept them through thick and thin until 1998 when he retired to Arizona. What a fan and I’m much happier for him than I am for myself and I’m pretty damn happy right now.
So they did sign Nick Mattson to an AHL contract with the Ice Hogs. Senior out of North Dakota who was a 2010 draft pick. The development people have worked really hard with this guy, nice to see him getting a shot in the pro game.
Agreed that what TVR did in his Final appearance was remarkable. He has a great makeup. 26 and 5 looked completely lost and they had been playing regular minutes for the previous 6 months. For 57 to come in, get up to speed and not look completely outmatched was pretty amazing. Really hope we can get a full year out of the kid in 15/16.
If I were betting, Kimmo’s advice to TT went something like this: “You are 20, you are talented and can play at this level. Calm down and let the game come to you. It will.” Repeat every day until his breakout games vs. the Ducks. The day after: “See what I mean?” Having a voice like that is invaluable to a young kid who is trying to figure things out.
As I’ve said in previous posts, the Timmonen trade was reasonable based on what we saw in him last year – 20 min of ice time per game for 80 games. No reason to think he couldn’t keep that up, but his game had plunged off the cliff. At the end of all this, how can you not feel happy for a guy who wanted badly to contribute but his body just couldn’t do what his brain was telling him to do.
We may have to temper our enthusiasm next season with the influx of young talent but they should make the playoffs again and at a minimum make the Wild/Preds/Blues/Ducks lives miserable once again.
Terevainen said “It was like having a father here with me” amongst other nice things about 44. That is why I posted “Kimo trade something deeper than just a defenseman?” this front office light years ahead in their actions.
Good point on McNeill, Hof. I also think he gets dealt, for what I have no idea what he can garner on the market. Not including him as a black ace really showed me what the organization thought about him. He had a good year to boot as well. Must suck for prospects like Johns who could’ve been black aces and get a ring/hoist Lord Stanley
Great comments from Andrew Desjardins:
http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=771121
It’s pity that this rally is in Soldier Field. Just 60K can get in. Blame it on the weather I guess or just inept city planning. Just a pity its not in the park like last time so more could be a part of this celebration for Hawks fans.
Lets Go Hawks!!
Is it a foregone conclusion that Kruger will not be back? Denault as 4th center next season…?
Hofmeister
Thank you for sharing the blog from AD. What a great insight into what these leaders do to keep it all channeled in the right direction. These were my suspicions all along but it is so great to hear/read the words straight from the horses mouth.
I loved that! Would like to get inside Vermette’s head as well. Please post if you come across. Always enjoy your posts Hof. I KNOW you bleed red and white.
That blog from AD says a lot about the team knowing what it takes to win and just how important that is.
For those of us that can’t be in Chicago this week, does anyone know how you learn the dates individual players bring the Cup to their home town? I am especially interested in dates here in Ontario. Thanks.
Smitty, they almost always don’t publicize it because they don’t want to turn things into a zoo, but if you follow the player’s Twitter account or the Twitter account of the Ontario town they’re from, you can get a heads up.
Best of luck seeing the Cup! It is truly a cool memory. That silver chalice is really a celebrity, it turns more heads than a hot model …
JAX
June 17, 2015 at 10:53 am
Terevainen said “It was like having a father here with me”
Unfortunately, if you were paired with him it was like having a grandfather there with you
Thanks Hof.
Phil, agreed. I attempted to get tickets for the rally via my phone at 12:08. The system took 12 minutes to verify that no tickets were available. So apparently they sold out (gave away) soldier field in under 15 min.
DD, I was also wondering about Krugers status assuming denault comes up to center the 4th line…
Enjoy the Rally! Life is good . ..
thanks again Tab!
Alberta, he contributed, he’s got his name on the Stanley Cup. Might be time to let it go.
Watched the entire game over again last night. And the celebrations afterwards. And the talking heads on the NHL network. And will probably do it again tonight. Only 7:30pm out here in Santa Monica. Yep!
Question for anyone who knows: how has Svedberg played on the Hogs, and what kind of timing re his coming up to the team? That is one large human, and I hope he plays as big as he is.
My lounge chair and glass of wine awaits.
You have to commend TVR for his ability to step in and not be utterly terrible, but I wasn’t overly impressed with him either, I don’t think he was really an upgrade over Rundblad (and I know I’ll take a ton of heat since it seems most like to rag on Rundblad).
TVR is a career 3rd pairing guy, he wasn’t a good skater before the leg injuries and he just looked SLOW in the Final, like makes Rundblad look quick type of slow. I don’t know how many puck races he lost, but it was well over double digits in his limited minutes. I hope he can continue to improve, but I would be surprised if he ever becomes more than a 5th or 6th guy in Chicago (still a good free agent pick-up)
Tab I swear I didn’t read your post above before I posted on the Toews post again tonight- give it a read and have a laugh, it’s uncanny.
Tab, I should have more clearly said read your comment above vs. my last comment on the Toews post, same thoughts in the same order, very weird.
Weather looks downright nasty. Had this been held in Grant Park today it would have turned those grounds into a mud bath. Not sure why this HAD to be done today knowing the weather was going to be a negative factor. Never mid the exclusivity of holding this rally in an enclosed stadium that denies most of the fans a chance to participate.
Lets Go Hawks!!
Phil, my guess is that the park is a disgusting flooded mess.
Also, it is basically st patricks day with a slightly younger crowd. The smell of booze and shouts of bro’s were in the air.
@ Tony,
I believe Victor Svedberg’s AHL deal is currently up now. I am not sure if he projects as a guy the Hawks will continue with. He is no doubt a large man but their are a ton of guys higher then him on the minor league depth chart. There are 2 or possible 3 spots open depending on how things play out. Runblad is an RFA & Cumiskey is a UFA Then its Pokka, Johns, Paliotta, & TVR are all guys “ahead” of him according to most “experts”.
Not to mention guys like Fournier, Dalstrom, Snuggerud, Forsling who are all “rated” higher then him again according to “experts”.
His best bet is a 2 way deal and he excels in RFD, or he play like a BEAST in Training camp and wins a job.
Not to mention if the Hawks sign Mike Reilly he is another body in that 1st group.
Tony and Southside on Svedberg …
He has been a project of Rockford since signing as a free agent. He’s very tall, like 6’9 but not a bulky guy or a banger at all. Moves pretty well for his size but he’s not the most agile guy around either.
He had a below average first half or maybe 3/4 of the year this year and the chatter in Rockford was that his time was probably up in the organization. Then, he had a very good last couple of months and playoffs down there. He was invited in as a Black Ace due to Stephen Johns injury.
So they think enough of him to bring him in as a black ace but it took an injury to another guy to make that happen. Bowman did talk briefly about him toward the end of the year on one of the podcasts and noted he’s a “project” and how a guy that big needs more time to develop than other players.
What does all that mean?
I think at this point they may look to keep him around in Rockford for another year but then again if he’s got better options in Europe they won’t hold him back. Personally I wouldn’t count on Svedberg being part of a 7 man D-corps but I have been wrong before and will be wrong again.
Hof- a very accurate, concise view on Sved…
Absolutely right on “I have been wrong… and will be wrong again”
I wish I could say the same about myself!!!
Any opinions on Hawks keeping 91???
Interesting little plea from 91 at the Rally … using Kane as a sounding board…
I love TT… but don’t think he can take the Physical Demands ( end to end board play) Q/system requires at the Center position… so Hawks might try to keep him- if 91’s price is right.
I’d be surprised if they kept Brad Richards. I think they want to get younger and faster at center ice and will look to make a trade, if they don’t have one in mind already.
Thanks Hof and Southside. That really helps. I was curious because, as Southside points out, there are many guys in front of him that I’ve heard a lot more about. And signing Reilly would be great. Should be an interesting draft and couple of months.
I can see that too… But that Center is going to have to be pretty cheap…
point is – I don’t know if TT will/should be a Center any time soon-imo
skill is there, positioning is there, stick is great… but I think- he will be “Overmatched” trying to win some battles behind our own net.
In two weeks this whole picture will be a little clearer. Lots of moving parts between now and then and I expect the Blackhawks to be active, and not just salary dump moves. They won’t get everything done by the 4th of July (remember the Leddy deal took a while) but they’ll get some heavy lifting done.
We also have to remember having a Stanley Cup or in some cases multiple Stanley Cups on a player’s resume doesn’t hurt their value. Lots of teams looking for guys with that aspect of experience. Money comes first, but it’s a factor.
I think they keep Richards as he may be the one that takes one more year for a reasonable price-
Q had really high praise for him on Hockey Central at Noon and the panel liked the way he was skating by the end of the playoffs (when some of the others we’re going in the opposite direction)
Noonan96… my thoughts exactly.. 91’s skating improved much – both pace and endurance from the beginning of the season to the end… Last year – I watched a few games of the SCF’s and thought 91 was an old bum…
he improved- don’t know if it’s Hawks training/conditioning… or just motivation after being “dumped”… or Player’s around him… But Q- does have that Rep. of knowing when to give guys time off.
If they can make it work salary- wise I think there is a good chance Richards comes back. It sure appears that he has fit in well in the room and he still has some high end skill. We have to replace Vermette and I agree with Wall that TT is more likely to stay at wing. If we don’t bring Richards back then we have 2 key holes to fill in the middle. Perhaps Shaw goes back to center which will be unfortunate given how strong he played on wing. As Hof says there will be some interesting wheeling and dealing over the next few weeks!