Imrem: Cubs wise to follow path set by Blackhawks
One of the best compliments the Cubs can receive is that they're on their way to being what the Blackhawks have been.
They're right on schedule.
The Hawks made it to the conference finals in 2009 and won the Stanley Cup the next year.
The Cubs made it to the NLCS in 2015 and have a chance to win the World Series this year.
The point might be missed this week as the Hawks' season opened quietly amid the hoopla surrounding the Cubs' playoffs.
Don't forget, though, that the Cubs are trying to be to Major League Baseball what the Hawks have been to the National Hockey League.
Watching Hawks coach Joel Quenneville interviewed, you might think, "Hey, he could learn a few things from Cubs manager Joe Maddon."
But then you'd slap your forehead and recall that Quenneville has won three championships to Maddon's none.
Here are some more similarities to the Hawks that indicate that the Cubs are on the right path.
For starters, each rebuilt the old-fashioned way: By implementing "The Plan" to be bad before getting good.
The Hawks were bad enough long enough to squander nearly all of their season-ticket base.
The Cubs were bad enough long enough to squander a half-million in attendance.
During their process, the Hawks drafted high and wisely and before anyone could have imagined were in the playoffs and challenging for Stanley Cups.
During their process, the Cubs drafted high and wisely and before anyone could have imagined were in the playoffs and challenging for the World Series.
Each of these teams also made shrewd trades and free-agent acquisitions to supplement their foundation of prospects.
The result is the Cubs have Anthony Rizzo, who if he's fortunate will develop fully into what the Hawks' ultimate hockey captain Jonathan Toews has been.
The Cubs have a lethal offensive weapon in Kris Bryant, who if he's fortunate, will remain as much of a force for as many years as Hawks scoring champion Patrick Kane has.
The Cubs have prime-time defender Javier Baez, who if he's fortunate, will win multiple titles by preventing runs the way Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith has by preventing goals.
On and on we could go: Free-agent jackpots Jon Lester (Cubs) and Marian Hossa (Hawks); visionary owners Tom Ricketts (Cubs) and Rocky Wirtz (Hawks); and space-age club leaders Theo Epstein (Cubs) and John McDonough (Hawks).
Overall, both those Hawks and these Cubs were built for sustained success.
With Toews, Kane and more, the Hawks have been championship contenders for nearly a decade and converted the run into three Stanley Cups titles.
With Rizzo, Bryant and more, the Cubs intend to be in the playoffs every season and would love to win three World Series.
Or four or five.
The Cubs will have it easier than the Hawks, who had to retool after every title because of the NHL's salary cap.
Baseball doesn't have a cap so the affluent Cubs can pay whatever it takes to keep a team together.
If the Cubs ever win a World Series, it'll be interesting six years later to see how they compare to what the Hawks are six years after they won their first Stanley Cup.
The Cubs could do worse than to become what the local franchise currently in their shadow became.
mimrem@dailyherald.com