Yes

Article: Blackhawks GM builds potential dynasty around cap - http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=681457&cmpid=nhl-twt

18 more days until the repeat championship season begins.

It all depends on next year.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

You may be onto something here.

Thesis: Just like 2011, the cap crunch (which this year is totally arbitrary; the lockout meant they couldn't use payroll as a function of revenue, so they just pulled a number out of their ass) sets the team back quite a bit. The team has talent and the pipeline looks great, but teams generally don't win championships with as much inexperience as the Hawks are going to dress this year (Morin, Pirri, Smith). Our other guys had the shortest of short summers, so you can pretty much count on Hossa and Sharp to each miss about 20 games this year with aggravated injuries and maintenance days. The penalty kill will be diminished without Frolik, who was traded in the division, while there is no indication that the power play has been improved.

Antithesis: Realignment has tuned the NHL into an even bigger joke, from which the Blackhawks are slated to profit immensely. Removing the perennially excellent Red Wings and the rising Blue Jackets from the conference while adding the middling Jets makes the entire West weak, while the Hawks' own division features awful teams in the Predators, Avalanche, and Stars, plus the mediocre Wild and Jets. With the Hawks having to play the first two rounds inside the division (unless the Pacific's 5th finishes ahead of the Central's 4th), and considering that St. Louis's heavy forecheck doesn't work on a team that gets to their dump-ins faster than they do, the Hawks have basically been fool-proofed into the conference final.

Synthesis: With Popovichian management of lineups and everything breaking right with the bottom six, the Hawks can get through an easy schedule and flip the burners on for another championship, just like the Islanders used to do. At the very least, they'll put quality miles on the youngsters and keep their names in the papers while setting up for an earnest championship run in 2015 or 2016 with added experience and increased cap room.

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If they win multiple championships, they will definitely be a dynasty. If they don't, there's no chance.

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This makes me wish multing was still a thing. And that somebody funny made a Dierdorf mult.

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We already have a dope who states the obvious and pretends it's insightful.

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If they win one more in the next couple of years, doesn't it automatically mean dynasty? I know there is no official definition. I don't know who decides it. But I'd say 3 in 6 or 7 years would qualify.

Actually, the NHL does officially define its dynasties, and surprisingly, the 97/98/02/08 Red Wings and 95/00/03 Devils don't make the cut: http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=31167

Best bet for the Hawks, realistically speaking, is something akin to the Devils from 1993-2004, with sustained dominance and multiple championships or conference/Cup Finals appearances. They're already ahead of the old Avalanche, with two championships in four years rather than six.

EDIT: I suppose omitting the Red Wings isn't that surprising. There were three years that they didn't win the Cup or go to the Final, then the 2008 team really had nothing to do with the 2002 team outside of Lidstrom, Datsyuk (who was only a supporting player then), and the C-Team of Draper/Maltby/McCarty.

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