The Chicago Blackhawks were led to a third Stanley Cup in six years by their star players.
Conn Smythe winner Duncan Keith, captain Jonathan Toews and star winger Patrick Kane were great, but Don Cherry is pointing specifically to the off-season signing of veteran Brad Richards and the trade deadline acquisition of Antoine Vermette as two key elements to Chicago’s latest championship run.
“Experience means a lot and I think one of the big things is [Blackhawks GM] Stan Bowman and a couple of pickups he made,” the Coach’s Corner icon told Dean Blundell and Sid Seixeiro on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Tuesday. “Stan Bowman deserves a lot of credit too here.”
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Richards signed a one-year, $2-million deal with the Blackhawks in the summer and after a mediocre regular season, chipped in with 14 points in 23 playoff games. The Blackhawks gave up a first-round pick for Vermette, and although he was a healthy scratch early in the post-season, he ended up with two game-winning goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Bowman also acquired forward Andrew Desjardins and defenceman Kimmo Timonen, both of whom chipped in where they could in the playoffs.
Cherry often makes headlines for what he says on Hockey Night in Canada, but it’s almost exclusively about hockey. However, on Saturday during Game 5 Cherry spent a few minutes talking about why he thinks Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson should be voted in as an MLB All-Star Game starter and that Blue Jays fans should do their part.
The rant went viral and it even elicited a response from Donaldson.
Cherry announced Tuesday that he has been asked to throw out the first pitch on Canada Day when the Blue Jays host the Boston Red Sox and that Donaldson will catch it.
“I’m quite happy about that,” Cherry said. “I hope I make it to the plate.”
