Coach Brian Sutter compared the Blackhawks’ situation to those of the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers before they began their dynasties.
“Go ask [former general manager and coach] Glen Sather what it was like building a team in Edmonton or [GM] Bill Torrey or [coach] Al Arbour about building a team on Long Island,” Sutter said.
But Sutter left out one important fact. The Islanders were an expansion franchise when they began building the foundation for four consecutive Stanley Cup championships in the early 1980s.
The Oilers joined the NHL in 1979-80 as part of the merger with the WHA. Five years later they began a run of five Cups in seven seasons. The newness of the franchises made it easier to sell patience to the fans. Sutter is coaching a team in its 78th season that hasn’t won a Cup since 1961. . . .
Sutter said Wednesday that he talks to his team every day about the playoffs. . . . Igor Korolev, with no goals and two assists in his first 19 games, played 4 minutes 31 seconds on the power play. . . . When Craig Anderson was splitting time with him, Michael Leighton was 0-3-2 with a goals-against average of 3.40 in six games. Since Anderson went back to Norfolk, Leighton is 3-3-2 with a goals-against of 2.50. . . .
The Canucks extended coach Marc Crawford’s contract for three years. He is 182-150-58-21.
