Could This Be the Blackhawks' Last Hurrah?

We had waited all series for for the first two goal lead of the Stanley Cup finals, and then we had waited for Chicago's Patrick Kane to break out offensively, and then by the end of the Blackhawks' 2-0 Game 6 series-clinching win, we were even left waiting for the Stanley Cup itself to arrive at the United Center as it was held up in transit during an intense rainstorm in Chicago.

But by the end of all this waiting, it became readily apparent that we should just appreciate what the Blackhawks had just accomplished because things are likely to change drastically for the team in the very near future.

Veteran Brad Richards, 35, an unrestricted free agent, will probably won't be back next year. The Hawks may have trouble affording to stock the soda machine with over $43 million promised to just six players. Great players, most of them, sure, but at an average age over 30 years old, the days of this core are numbered.

Are these Blackhawks, who have won three Stanley Cups in six years, a dynasty? Depends on your definition. They're no Oilers of the 1980s. But in today's salary cap era, Hawks management has done well to keep the core together for as long as they have. They'll continue to play strong, possession-first hockey but mostly because the system is so ingrained into their players that they can do it in their sleep.

And yet despite the series win, Chicago wasn't entirely dominant for long stretches throughout the Cup final either. The young Lightning looked equally lost at times, which allowed the Blackhawks to keep the games close. There was a two-minute stretch early in the second period where Tampa Bay missed several gift-wrapped chances. The Hawks may not be as lucky in the future to meet such an inexperienced team.

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper was a fun, light-hearted addition to these finals, but sticking with likely injured goalie Ben Bishop through Games 5 and 6 might have been one of the decisions that ultimately sunk Cooper's team. Bishop laboured throughout the final two games and the team in front of him never played with the killer instinct that having a hot, stable goalie can provide. Cooper might be a young coach, but he needed to make sharper decisions. For example, he waited too long to pull Bishop in a pivotal late-game power play that would have given the Lightning a six-on-four man advantage.

Bishop's calamitous error while trying to play the puck in Game 5 led to an easy marker for Patrick Sharp, who hadn't scored in what felt like light years.

Lightning sniper Steven Stamkos had similar scoring issues. The young Tampa Bay captain had his looks, but went scoreless throughout the six-game series. He showed his frustration midway through the second period with a late push from behind on Niklas Hjalmarsson. Live and learn though. Stamkos will likely be back on the biggest stage soon enough.

These Finals were a back-and-forth affair, but not of the speedy, end-to-end variety. There would be stretches of time where one team would vanish, going five minutes or more without a shot. The Lightning looked young and sloppy. The Hawks often looked old..

But this was not a boring Cup final. It was just confusing at times.

Even the newest star to come out of this series was someone who had been there all along. Late in the second period, defenseman Duncan Keith chased down his own rebound after a shot from the point to open the scoring. The unanimous Conn Smythe Trophy winner solidified his spot as one of the greatest defenseman of his generation with his three points and his nearly 30 minutes of ice time per game during the series.

Dependable defenseman like Keith are becoming harder to find, and teams will continue to work their one man defense like the Bolts did with Victor Hedman, who emerged as the pre-eminent young defenseman in the league, even if he was in Keith's shadow for most of the series.

Defense was the star of these Finals. The Blackhawks won with just thirteen goals in six games, spread out amongst 10 scorers. Depth trumps all.

"At the end of the day, you don't win a championship without everybody," said Keith after the game. "I know that might sound cliché to pass off on teammates but it is true in hockey. It's an unbelievable team game and we had everybody going from top to bottom and that's what you need."

Having a particular type of depth, experienced players, helps too. Young players often score in bunches, especially the Lightning's triplets line of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, who went from having 24 combined points in the Conference Finals to just six in the Finals. Some players, though, like Patrick Kane, get hot at just the right moment.

"A lot of credit to Tampa Bay. They've got an unbelievable team, they're so young. They're going to be a tough team to play against going forward," said Keith.

When the Cup finally did arrive at the United Center, it didn't take long for Captain Jonathan Toews to pass it to 40-year old Kimmo Timonen, who had waited his whole career to raise it. For Timonen, the wait was over.