Dec. 06--No one is rooting harder for the Blackhawks and Canadiens to meet in the Stanley Cup Final than Denis Savard.
The Hall of Famer, who has deep ties to both venerable clubs, can envision the kind of impact a series between two of the pioneering franchises in the NHL would have for the sport.
"It would be a dream finals if it happens," said Savard, who played for both organizations and also was the coach of the Hawks before settling into his role as one of the team's ambassadors. "There's a chance. Montreal is having a good season and so are we. There's a long way to go, but it would be tremendous for hockey fans and the hockey world."
The players on the ice for Friday's game between two of the NHL's top teams -- won by the Hawks 4-3 before a crowd of 22,087 at the United Center -- realize how special it would be if the next time they faced off it was for the right to hoist the Cup.
"It would probably bring back some old times," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "Any time you see two Original Six franchises having successful teams going deep in the playoffs and having some really good games against each other, it's great for the game and good for their fans who have been cheering for those teams for generations."
Added Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban: "Whenever you have two Original Six teams come together, especially two teams that are doing well in the standings, the games are always high energy and fun to watch."
Toews and Subban did their parts to make it fun Friday in a hard-fought battle that was the 559th between the teams. Both scored goals, but it was Brandon Saad's game-winner with 27 seconds remaining in the third period that lifted the Hawks.
The victory was the Hawks' fifth in a row and 10th in their last 12 games.
That vaulted them
into second place in the Central Division, a point behind the Predators, whom they face Saturday night in Nashville. The Canadiens remained second in the Atlantic as they couldn't
hold off the Hawks, who scored twice in the third to rally for the victory.
Before the game, the Hawks had a moment of silence for legendary player Jean Beliveau, who died Tuesday at 83.
It was a celebration of the man who helped the Canadiens win 10 Stanley Cups and is considered hockey royalty.
Savard was on hand to witness the ceremony, and it hit home as he had known Beliveau from his time in Montreal.
Beliveau was the first person Savard encountered when he walked into the old Montreal Forum after being traded from the Hawks to the Canadiens in 1990.
"That was pretty special," Savard recalled.
Perhaps no one appreciates how steeped in tradition the Hawks and Canadiens franchises are better than Savard, whose No. 18 hangs from the United Center rafters. He struggled to find the words to describe his feelings about his stints with both organizations before settling on, "lucky."
"There's no other word to describe how fortunate I was to play (with the Canadiens) and win a championship (in 1993) and to be a part of the Blackhawks for as long as I have been," Savard said.
"If you would have tried to envision a scenario, you couldn't get a scenario like mine. I was pretty fortunate."
ckuc@tribpub.com
Twitter @ChrisKuc
