As ever Blackhawks have one goal: Stanley Cup Champions
Three wins. Eight losses.
Go ahead and rattle off any other numbers you want over the past two seasons - like 97 regular-season victories or 80 goals by Patrick Kane - and Blackhawks fans will still come back to those numbers.
Three wins. Eight losses.
That's the Hawks' record in the postseason since they won the Stanley Cup in 2015 and it's not acceptable to coach Joel Quenneville, GM Stan Bowman, captain Jonathan Toews or any other veteran member of the organization.
So as a new season dawned at the United Center on Friday with the first day of training camp, talk naturally centered on the ultimate goal of winning it all - something veteran forward Tommy Wingels believes is possible.
"If you want to join a team that has the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup, this is the place to do it," the Wilmette native said. "The guys in this locker room believe it. The guys in this organization believe it. The coaches believe it. And anything but a championship is a failure."
So let the grind begin.
Day 1 featured the top line reunion of Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad. Along with Richard Panik, they should wreak havoc against opposing defenses.
"It's an intimidating line," said Patrick Kane, whose Team White got the better of Toews' Team Red 4-3 in the first scrimmage. "They're fast, they're strong on the puck, they're good with the puck possession, they can score goals."
The Hawks' second line may be a work in progress, but Kane (2 goals) and Nick Schmaltz looked dangerous together Friday. Kane has been working out with Schmaltz and knows the second-year player could end up replacing Artemi Panarin on his left wing.
"I don't know who's going to be in that spot," Kane said, "but if he's a guy that's focused and determined and has that potential to do that every night, he could be a special player for us. And we expect that out of him. I think we expect that out of a lot of our young guys."
Included in that group might be forwards Alex DeBrincat and John Hayden, and defenseman Gustav Forsling. All three players stood out Friday, with Hayden scoring a goal and Forsling feeding Kane with a gorgeous pass.
The question is - with so many players on one-way contracts, how many openings exist? Bowman insisted that other than the obvious names, no one will be handed a job.
"The reason we're here is to watch these guys compete and show us who belongs," Bowman said. "There'll be a lot of hungry players out there showing they should be the guy."
And three weeks from now, they'll join Toews, Kane, Saad, Patrick Sharp, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford and the rest of the Hawks against the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. That day begins the journey to April … to May … and perhaps June. A journey the Hawks hope culminates with a 16th postseason victory so the numbers 3 and 8 lose their meaning all together.
"You see the logo. You see the expectations, the 'One Goal,' " Sharp said. "I'm sure the team was disappointed with the last two playoff rounds, but that's over with. It's a new season, and we want to win the Cup. …
"Expectations are high, and that's what we play for."
• Twitter @johndietzdh