Franchise of the Decade: Chicago Blackhawks

In the runup to the unveiling of the NHL First and Second All-Decade Teams on Jan. 24 (6:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN), the NHL will be announcing its best plays, moments, events, coaches and team of the 2010s.
One selection, chosen by NHL.com and NHL.com International staff members, will be unveiled each day in the runup to the release of the all-decade teams. Today is Franchise of the Decade: the Chicago Blackhawks.

CHICAGO -- As the Chicago Blackhawks celebrated their 2010 Stanley Cup championship against the Philadelphia Flyers in June of that year, they reveled in knowing they had ended decades of frustration with their first Cup in 49 years.
But it was just the beginning of what would be an outstanding stretch for the Blackhawks, who were voted NHL franchise of the decade by NHL.com and NHL.com International staff members.
"It's been special," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "At the end of the day it's not easy, it's a lot of hard work. A lot of teammates and friends have come through this locker room and left to play for other teams or retire -- there's always a different scenario -- but I'm pretty thankful for what I've been able to be a part of. For me, Chicago has become a home. You're around the city, people are thanking you for the championships and that will never get old. Great memories and obviously a pretty special time when were able to make those Cup runs."

The Blackhawks also won the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015 and finished first in the Central Division in 2010, 2013 and 2016. They won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL team that finished with the most points in 2013, starting that season 21-0-3 before their first regulation loss.
They also played in five outdoor games during the past decade (2014 NHL Stadium Series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier Field in Chicago, 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic against the Washington Capitals at Nationals Park in Washington D.C., 2016 NHL Stadium Series against the Minnesota Wild at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, 2017 Winter Classic against the St. Louis Blues at Busch Stadium and the 2019 Winter Classic against the Boston Bruins at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana).
"I had a chance to see [forward] Marian Hossa over in Europe, and we were reflecting back on when he decided to come to Chicago," general manager Stan Bowman said. "He had those two years in a row when he was so close to winning the Cup with other organizations and he came here with the hopes that he could finally break through. Here we are, 10 years later, winning three times and at that point, we both just look back on some of those years, when we were able to have those great runs. It was a great era for our team, it's a lot of fun when you win, you appreciate it after the fact, how difficult it was to climb the mountain and do it multiple times."
Goaltender Corey Crawford said it's rewarding to be a part of that success.
"It's great to be part of a winning team and just the atmosphere and coming to the rink every day. Everything was fun about it," he said. "I still think that this team has a chance to do great things. We just need for it to come together. We've had a lot of new bodies over the years. We've shown signs and flashes of greatness, we just need to be more consistent.
"But I mean, the last decade was really special."

All-Decade schedule:

Jan. 15:
Save of the Decade
-- Braden Holtby, Game 2, 2018 Stanley Cup Final
Jan. 16:
Coach of the Decade
-- Joel Quenneville
Jan. 17: Franchise of the Decade -- Chicago Blackhawks
Sat, Jan 18: Playoff Series of the Decade
Sun, Jan. 19: Game of the Decade
Mon, Jan. 20: Event of the Decade
Tue, Jan. 21: Moment of the Decade
Wed, Jan. 22: Goal of the Decade
Fri, Jan 24: First and Second All-Decade Team