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The Chicago Blackhawks will move on from their 2013 Stanley Cup season after their championship banner is raised on Tuesday night.

Before they do that, a number of the Blackhawks shared their favorite memories from their day with the Stanley Cup this past summer.

Bryan Bickell
"For me, my passion in the offseason is fishing. So a friend of mine has his own TV show; it's called 'Facts of Fishing,' and his name is David Mercer. It's a big TV show in Canada. I had the opportunity to bring the Cup on the show and fish with the Cup, which was special because I know all the guys around the room would say if I wasn't playing hockey I'd be fishing. There were two parts. The first day we caught fish, but there weren't any with size. We had a Part 2 the next day, and we got big ones."

Brandon Bollig
"I think being from St. Louis and taking it back there and having the Blues being a big rival with the Blackhawks, people were on the fence as to whether to come out. I got a lot of tweets from people that they weren't going to come see it until the Blues won. Then again, you get a lot people saying that's awesome, and they're going to support someone from their hometown and come. I had a lot of people with Blues jerseys and shirts at my public event. It was cool. It was all in good fun. I understand. I'd probably do the same if I was in their position."

Corey Crawford
"I think just spending it with my family. It was special to me because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. They pretty much gave up their lives not only for me, but for me and my brother both so we could play hockey and do that. My parents, they pretty much paid the way for me. Not just me, but my brother and sister have been really supportive throughout my career. It was pretty special."

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Here are 10 things to know about the Chicago Blackhawks before they raise the banner Tuesday night and begin the 2013-14 NHL season:

1. The Blackhawks won't discuss a Stanley Cup repeat, but they have constantly emphasized getting off to a positive start to the season. The previous time the Blackhawks tried to defend the Cup, their season was derailed by some early woes. They aren't likely to match last season's 24-game points streak to begin the season, but they would like to do better than the 9-9-2 record they had after 20 games in the 2010-11 season. The Blackhawks do have the advantage this time around of returning nearly everyone from last season's team.

2. The Blackhawks found magic in a top line of Bryan Bickell-Jonathan Toews-Patrick Kane in the playoffs last season, and Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville will be rolling that out again to start this season. The major change that occurred since the trio last played in a real game together is that Bickell is now making about $3.4 million more than he was last season. With that money comes higher expectations, and Bickell understands that. The line only played together once in the preseason, but it looked dangerous.

3. The other Blackhawks' lines likely will be Patrick Sharp-Michal Handzus-Marian Hossa; Brandon Saad-Andrew Shaw-Jimmy Hayes; and Brandon Bollig-Marcus Kruger-Joakim Nordstrom. Ben Smith likely will rotate in on the third and fourth lines.

Just some quick notes on the lines: Sharp stood out in the preseason. Playing on the third line should take some pressure off Saad. Hayes was impressive offensively with his size and quickness at times. Bollig had a solid preseason, but he needs to be more than an enforcer to keep his spot.

4. The defensive pairings likely will be Duncan Keith-Brent Seabrook; Johnny Oduya-Niklas Hjalmarsson; and Nick Leddy-Michal Rozsival. Michael Kostka and Sheldon Brookbank likely will rotate with Rozsival throughout the season. Having an eighth defenseman will allow Quenneville to sit players when they need some time off or are consistently struggling.

5. You can always hold a special place in your heart for Dave Bolland, Michael Frolik and Viktor Stalberg because they helped win last season's Stanley Cup, but they were role players and replaceable. Hayes, Nordstrom and Smith should have no trouble filling in those spots. Nordstrom is expected to replace Frolik on the penalty kill.

6. The Blackhawks didn't really answer the second-line center issue in the preseason. The plan to use Saad barely got off the ground. Brandon Pirri was the second option, but an injury set him back, and he never got a chance to show off his game. That brought Quenneville to his backup option, Handzus. Handzus was recovering from his offseason surgeries during training camp and was held out of all six preseason games. It will be interesting to see how his body holds up over 82 games, especially in such a vital role. As a side note, the Blackhawks' power play didn't look any better in the preseason, either.

7. Hossa also didn't play in any preseason games, and there has to be some concern about his health. Hossa looked great while at Notre Dame to start training camp, but he apparently aggravated his back injury sometime in that first week and has been dealing with some issues again. Hossa missed a Stanley Cup finals game due a back problem and wasn't the same player in the last three games of the season. If he's affected again by it early, it might be in the Blackhawks' best interests to sit him for an extended period to get him healthy. As of now, he said he's fine and will play in the season opener.

8. The NHL has re-aligned its conferences and is back to two divisions per conference. That means the Blackhawks are now joined in the Central Division by the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets. The Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets are now in the Eastern Conference. The new playoff format will include the top three teams from each division receiving spots and then two wild cards. The first two rounds will be within the division, but with the possibility of the final wild-card team having to cross over divisions to play.

9. Nikolai Khabibulin is back with the Blackhawks and has looked reliable enough in the preseason. If Khabibulin's age (40) catches up to him, the Blackhawks will probably turn to Antti Raanta to be Corey Crawford's backup. Raanta, who is from Finland, is getting accustomed to the smaller North American rink in AHL Rockford to start the season. Either way, Crawford will see a bulk of the workload.

10. Oddsmakers have made the Blackhawks the favorites to win the 2014 Stanley Cup. Most have them at 5-1 or 6-1. They're followed by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Blues, Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks. The Penguins were favored by most to win the Cup last season.

Here are six observations from the Chicago Blackhawks' training camp and preseason games:

1. The durability of the Blackhawks’ older players has to be a concern. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has been very cautious with players’ injuries in the preseason. There is no reason to risk anything. Yet, the fact 34-year-old Marian Hossa and 36-year-old Michal Handzus didn’t play in a single preseason game and haven’t been 100 percent healthy in the preseason has to be somewhat alarming. Both players are getting up in age, and both are coming off a season where they suffered severe injuries. With Hossa, there’s a lot at stake for the present, but even more so for the future. Back injuries aren’t anything to mess with, and the Blackhawks are depending on Hossa for years to come. As for Handzus, his injury wouldn’t be as much of an immediate concern if Brandon Saad or Brandon Pirri had worked out at the second-line center. But with Handzus being that option now, the Blackhawks are looking for him to duplicate what he did in the playoffs.

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Chicago Blackhawks forward prospect Teuvo Teravainen will return to Finland this season despite playing well in training camp, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said on Sunday.

“I think we’re going to send him back, and he’s going to play over there,” Quenneville said. “But nice knowing there’s a real nice piece coming.”

The 19-year-old Teravainen, the Blackhawks’ 2012 first-round pick, received rave reviews from Quenneville throughout the three days of scrimmages, which ended on Sunday, at Notre Dame.

Teravainen was given a chance to play center with Bryan Bickell and Patrick Kane as his wings during two scrimmages on Sunday, and Teravainen’s play again caught Quenneville’s eye. Teravainen scored a goal, showed off a quick stick by stealing a few pucks, created chances for Bickell and Kane and appeared comfortable while possessing the puck.

“I think he’s one of those players that he seems to be special as far as his play recognition, where he protects the puck, how he sees plays,” Quenneville said. “Both sides of the puck, I think he’s really responsible defensively which at a young age is pretty remarkable, especially over here and a different type of game.”

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Pirri had no time to be nervous when he was called to replace Jonathan Toews on the White Team's top line during a scrimmage on Friday.

Pirri only discovered Toews was sitting out the scrimmage moments before the puck was dropped.

"I was sitting on the bench, and the ref was sitting at the faceoff, and we only had four guys out there," the 22-year-old Pirri said. "Teddy [Dent] kicked me and said, ‘Get out there.'"

Pirri jumped out onto the ice and found himself centering a line with Bryan Bickell and Patrick Kane as his wings. For a player like Pirri who is looking to prove in training camp he deserves a spot on this season's Blackhawks roster, the opportunity was priceless.

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ESPNChicago.com's Blackhawks reporter Scott Powers is counting down this season's top-50 storylines leading into this week's training camp. Here's the final installment:

10. Defensive stability
Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has made it a priority in the past few seasons to have veteran defensemen. He's willing to gamble with young forwards, but he doesn't like to rush young defensemen. That's why one of the Blackhawks' greatest strengths this season should be its defensive depth again. The Blackhawks return all seven defensemen -- Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Johnny Oduya, Nick Leddy, Michal Rozsival and Sheldon Brookbank -- from last year's Stanley Cup team, and all of those players except Brookbank are signed through the following season as well. ESPN recently ranked the Blackhawks' defensive group No. 1 in the league.

9. Captain consistent
Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is still 25 years old and has room to grow, but the Blackhawks wouldn't complain if he just kept doing on what he has done. He can be expected to produce 70-plus points, be among the league's leaders in faceoffs and takeways, be around a plus-20 rating, contribute on the power play and penalty kill and still be the team leader. The Blackhawks will be banking on similar numbers from Toews again this season.

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ESPNChicago.com’s Blackhawks reporter Scott Powers is counting down this season’s top-50 storylines leading into this week’s training camp. Here’s the third installment:

30. Brookbank, Rozsival splitting time
Good things happened for the Blackhawks last season when defenseman Michal Rozsival was on the ice. He had a plus-18 rating, third on the team, in the regular season and a plus-9 rating, tied for fifth, in the playoffs. During the regular season, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville split ice time between Rozsival and Sheldon Brookbank. Quenneville did that partly because Rozsival was dealing with an injury early in the season, but he also wanted to keep both players fresh. Quenneville eventually opted to use Rozsival throughout the playoffs, but expect Rozsival and Brookbank to be involved in another rotation this season. The Blackhawks hope Brookbank will bounce back from a subpar 2013 season and play as he did in his final season with the Anaheim Ducks, when he had 14 points and a plus-11 rating in 80 games.

29. The third line -- Shaw and who else?
Andrew Shaw is likely to center the third line for another season. It’s just not certain who will be beside him. Shaw, Bryan Bickell and Viktor Stalberg gave the Blackhawks a consistent third line last season. Bickell is now likely to move into a top-6 forward role after receiving a sizeable pay increase in the offseason, and Stalberg signed with the Nashville Predators. If Brandon Saad doesn’t work out as the second-line center, he could be a perfect fit on the third line. Saad would give the line some scoring punch and ease the pressure off him as he plays in his first 82-game NHL season. Jimmy Hayes is another possibility. He got called up from Rockford last season and had four points in 10 games with the Blackhawks. Jeremy Morin, who led the IceHogs with 30 goals last season, Brandon Pirri, who led the IceHogs in points, and Ben Smith could be in the mix as well.

28. Oduya’s continued consistency
Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman hasn’t traded for many players over the last few seasons, but the few players he has acquired have worked out for the Blackhawks. Defenseman Johnny Oduya was dealt for in the 2011-12 season and quickly proved to be a valuable asset. Oduya continued to be a consistent defenseman last season and had a plus-12 regular-season rating and a plus-12 playoff rating. He and Niklas Hjalmarsson have given the Blackhawks a strong second defensive pairing. The Blackhawks will hope for more of the same this season. Not that Oduya is solely responsible, but the Blackhawks are 49-9-9 in the regular season since Oduya was traded for in 2012.

27. The other Swedish defenseman
There were rumors just a season ago that the Blackhawks could deal Niklas Hjalmarsson to free up money. A lot has changed since then. Hjalmarsson helped the Blackhawks to another Stanley Cup last season with a plus-15 regular-season rating and a plus-10 playoff rating, and Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman recently showed how important Hjalmarsson is to the franchise’s future. Bowman made sure Hjalmarsson would continue to be a part of the Blackhawks’ core for many years to come as Hjalmarsson signed a five-year extension which will keep him in Chicago through the 2018-19 season.

26. Bickell-Toews-Kane line
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville toyed with the team’s lines during the playoffs last season until he found something that worked. One of the lines he found to be most the productive was Bryan Bickell, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. The line had success in the Western Conference finals and Stanley Cup finals. It’ll be interesting to see whether Quenneville tries that line again to start the season. Bickell was a regular on the third line last season, but is expected to a be a top-6 forward this season after his new contract. Quenneville often split up Kane and Toews last season to balance the lines. Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa are also expected to be on the first two lines, along with a new second-line center.

25. Need some luck
The Blackhawks possess plenty of skill. No doubt. But to win a Stanley Cup, you also have to possess some luck. In Rob Vollman’s "Hockey Abstract," he breaks down that luck can be accounted for by a team’s shooting and save percentages, special teams index, injuries, post-regulation record and record in one-goal games. After taking into account all those factors, Vollman determined the Blackhawks were the third luckiest team last season behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins. He also calculated what the standings would have been last season if there had been 82 games and luck wasn’t a factor, and his luck-neutral standings were the Ottawa Senators would have finished with 104 points, the Detroit Red Wings with 103 points and the Blackhawks with 99 points. Finally, he predicted this season’s standings based on last season’s results, the removal of luck and major roster changes, and he has the Senators and New Jersey Devils finishing with 105 points, and the Blackhawks in 11th place overall with 93 points.

24. A new, but old, backup
The Blackhawks were the league’s best regular-season team last season largely because of the play of two goaltenders. Corey Crawford carried the goaltending load in the playoffs, but Ray Emery was just as important in the regular season, posting a 17-1-0 record, a 1.94 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. Emery is gone now, and the Blackhawks’ backup responsibilities fall upon Nikolai Khabibulin, who is back with the Blackhawks for a second time. Khabibulin is 40 years old, but the Blackhawks are convinced he can still be a solid backup. He has been that at times the past few seasons, but he’s also had some inconsistencies due to injuries. If Antti Raanta progresses as the Blackhawks hope, he could fill in for Khabibulin if his play declines in the second half of the season.

23. Hitting the road twice
The Blackhawks will face two lengthy road trips this season. They will play seven consecutive road games from Nov. 19-Nov. 30 with games at Colorado, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Dallas and Phoenix. They’ll also play seven consecutive road games beginning on Jan. 28 and ending on Feb. 27 with the Olympics in between those dates. Prior to the Olympics, the Blackhawks will play at Calgary, Vancouver, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim and Phoenix. After the Olympics, the Blackhawks open on the road against the New York Rangers. The Blackhawks were 18-4-2 on the road last season and went 4-0-2 on their longest road trip of the season.

22. That power-play issue
No, a team doesn’t need an effective power play to win the Stanley Cup. The Blackhawks proved that again last season. But, yes, it wouldn’t hurt to have one. The Blackhawks’ power play struggled to find consistency for the second consecutive season last year. They ranked 19th with a 16.7 power-play percentage in the regular season. The Blackhawks undoubtedly have talented offensive players, but that hasn’t translated to power-play success. Blackhawks assistant coach Jamie Kompon said at the convention, “Eventually, there comes a time when players try to do too much as opposed to keeping it simple. When you simplify things, that's usually the way the pucks go into the net.” That will be the goal this season.

21. Replacing Frolik
Michael Frolik made himself a valuable piece to the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup run last season with his play on the penalty kill. Frolik and Marcus Kruger were considered unsung heroes, but everyone knew about their penalty kill contributions by the end of the season. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville recently said Ben Smith could be the guy to replace Frolik. Smith hasn’t stuck in the NHL yet, but he has played in some big games – like Game 3 of the Stanley Cup last season – and seems mature enough to understand the importance of that role.

The Chicago Blackhawks have their team and they’re making a run at becoming a dynasty with it.

After having to dissolve a large portion of the 2010 Stanley Cup team due to salary cap restraints, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman is doing his best to keep nearly everyone together for years to come after their latest Cup win.

The Blackhawks will now have at least 14 players, including seven forwards, six defensemen and one goaltender, from last season’s Stanley Cup roster together over the next two seasons, and that number will likely grow with Andrew Shaw and Ben Smith among the group of upcoming restricted free agents.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell may never experience a summer as memorable as this one.

Bickell began the summer by becoming a playoffs star with 17 points in 23 playoff games which only trailed Patrick Kane for the team lead. He scored the first of the two goals in 17 seconds to defeat the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals and clinched the second championship for the Blackhawks in the past four years. He was then rewarded with a four-year, $16 million extension. His hometown of Orono, Ontario recently put up two gateway signs to proudly claim Bickell as their own.

And Bickell still has more to come. He will get married on Saturday and will have his day with the Stanley Cup in late August.

"It's been an amazing year from the season we had to winning the Cup then getting the extension," Bickell said at the Blackhawks convention last weekend. "It's going to be a year to remember. Then getting married, having another Cup party; it's unbelievable. It still hasn't sunk in. I know we're almost halfway through the summer and just really excited and happy to be here."

The only downside of Bickell's summer was when he required surgery after the season to repair a torn tendon in his left thumb. He's not sure when he torn the tendon, but he expects to be ready when training camp opens Sept. 12.

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CHICAGO -- Even though the Chicago Blackhawks aren’t done just yet celebrating being the 2013 Stanley Cup champions, they’re not worried about suffering from a Cup hangover next season.

The Blackhawks will be aiming to become the first team in the 21st century to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. The last team to win consecutive Stanley Cups was the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998.

“There’s always the saying you got that Stanley Cup hangover, but we feel like we have a good team, the same team we had last year,” Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell said prior to the Blackhawks convention on Friday. “We just have to bring the same mindset that we came into last year. I know it’s going to be a shortened summer to get in shape, but we have a season to a figure it out to make a push in the playoffs.”

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After trading away Daniel Carcillo on Tuesday, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman is likely done adding or deleting any significant pieces to next year’s team.

It’s still early and Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville can be unpredictable, but here’s a look at the potential lines for next season’s team.

FIRST LINE

Left wing Bryan Bickell, Center Jonathan Toews, Right wing Patrick Kane
This line produced magic in the playoffs. Quenneville has preferred to keep Kane and Toews on separates lines for the most part in recent seasons, but Quenneville can’t ignore the success the trio had together last season. Kane and Toews are coming off two of their most all-around seasons. They may cancel out each other in the Hart Trophy voting, but they can be expected to be in the discussion if they continue to play as they did last season. Bickell spent the regular season on the third line, but he earned a promotion by becoming one of the go-to guys in the playoffs. Bickell’s 17 playoff points were only second to Kane’s 19 points. There’s still uncertainty whether Bickell can be that same type of player consistently throughout an 82-game regular season, but Bickell received a large raise to do just that.

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Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman was more than fine with being a minor participant in the first day of NHL free agency on Friday.

Bowman’s lone moves Friday were signing Nikolai Khabibulin to be a backup goaltender and re-signing forward Michal Handzus and defenseman Michal Rozsival. He also previously re-signed forward Bryan Bickell and defenseman Nick Leddy.

“I’ve always had the philosophy if you’re relying on the free-agent period in July to save your team, it’s probably not the prescription we’re looking for,” Bowman said on Friday night. “Adding a player here and there is certainly understandable. Bryan Bickell, I guess, could fall into that category. We got him signed a week ago leading into this. He’s the only guy you can put into that category for us, the frenzy.

“I think the way to build success and sustain it is through the draft and develop your players and add in the occasional player through free agency. If I had my choice, I would do it the way we’ve done it recently which is develop from within, have your young players emerge over time, don’t rush them to the NHL and really use the draft and the development of your young players as a way to find really good players. Fortunately, we’ve been able to do that. When we find a group that has had success, we can keep it together like we have this summer. That’s the preferred method for us. I think it’s the most prudent way in the salary cap world to sustain success.”

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CHICAGO -- Wrigley Field is the next stop for the Chicago Blackhawks on their championship celebration tour. The Stanley Cup will be on display as part of the Chicago Cubs' pregame ceremonies Saturday at Wrigley.

On Friday, Blackhawks Bryan Bickell and Brandon Bollig took batting practice and shagged fly balls during batting practice before the Cubs opened a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bickell, Bollig and Patrick Sharp were scheduled to be guest conductors for Friday's seventh-inning stretch.

Bickell is recovering from left thumb surgery. He scored the tying goal with 1:16 remaining in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Boston Bruins, a game the Hawks won to claim the Cup.

"I tore the tendon in my thumb and had surgery," he said after going through drills with the Cubs. "I was able to get a couple of hits with it, but maybe in the future I will take some swings again."

Bollig just missed hitting one out during his batting session.

Bickell played some baseball growing up.

"Hey, that was fun then, but to see what these guys can do and what work they do is another level altogether," he said.

Bickell, whose Hawks won their second Stanley Cup in the past four seasons, understands what winning a championship does for a fan base and hopes some of the Hawks' magic rubs off on the Cubs.

"We had a period where we were rebuilding, and I think they are at a point where they are doing the same thing," he said. "It is a (process) where you have to trust and be patient. You need to trust your management and scouting staff. We waited and waited, and now we are doing [great] and very happy about it."

Bryan Bickell joins "Waddle & Silvy" to discuss his new contract with the Blackhawks.



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The Chicago Blackhawks re-signed forward Bryan Bickell to a four-year contract on Sunday, the team announced.

Bickell will make $16 million over the four seasons, a source told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun.

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