CHICAGO Colton Keith is a veteran of the proce s.

Two years ago, at roughly six weeks old, he wound up inside the Stanley Cup. .

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A few hours ago, at roughly two years and six weeks old, he lifted the Stanley Cup with a little help from his pops. Duncan Keith, the Blackhawks android of a defenseman, had just scored the game-winning goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the NHL playoffs.

In between having microphones, recorders and cameras jammed in his face, Keith carved out some time with his son. First, Keith The Elder was holding Colton and getting him to point at his face on the Jumbotron. Then came the photo op. Things were different now.

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Coltons dad, like the rest of his teammates, had just picked off the Lightning in six games, culminating with at United Center. Like a bunch of them, he .

There was Colton Keith. There was Bryan Bickell, engaged in 2010, with his baby. There was Marian Ho sas brood, you could call it. Byron Buxton Jersey Patrick Sharp, best we could tell, had two girls to worry about. Brent Seabrook and his wife have another on the way, likely on Friday.

There were more. Many more.

The Vermette family after the victory. (Getty Images)

Proud dad Daniel Carcillo. (Getty Images)

It wasnt always like this.

Things change. It doesnt feel like a long time, but its been a long time, captain Jonathan Toews childle s, mind you said of the preschool cla s that spilled onto the ice. A lot of things change. But we still got an amazing group of guys and the desire to get back here, thats one thing thats stayed consistent.

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And nothing has stayed more consistent than Keith, Toews and the Blackhawks five other core members. Theyre older. Theyre three-time Cup champions. And theyre unlikely to make another run, at least as currently constituted. There are contract extensions kicking in, and players to re-sign, and guys getting older. GM Stan Bowmans task is to navigate that minefield.

"I think we're going to enjoy this one for a bit. I've been thinking of that stuff for a long time, he said. It's not like it Eduardo Escobar Jersey 's going to surprise me. We'll make it work. We've got a plan in place.

So, for now, lets appreciate what the group has done, and think about what comes next.

The Blackhawks 180 from laughingstock to powerhouse didnt get its engine until they drafted Toews third overall in 2006. Hes an undeniably great player hockey card stats and advanced metrics converge there.

There should also be a place in the discu sion maybe smaller than some say, but existent nonethele s that values the kind of person Toews is. Earlier in his career, it might have felt more like lip service; its not. Part of that, however minor, comes through in his interviews. Theres more charisma, more confidence, larger hints of the guy he is behind the scenes Logan Morrison Jersey .

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One example: While a teammate had gotten roped into another interview in the post-win chaos this stuff happens, and were all guilty of it Toews came over, put his arm around him, waited for a natural break, then pulled him away to take pictures with his family. Its time," he said.

Next season, his cap hit will deservedly jump from $6 million to $10.5 million. He could make more, but $4.5 million in a $71 million capped world nece sitates change.

Usually seen as Toews smaller, American, le s serious counterpart, Kane has also done some serious growing up, on and off the ice. Hes not a pure po se sion driver. He is a sniper, though, and a better play-driver than he gets credit for.

Hes also proof that with enough time, skill willtrump luck. He hadnt scored until the third period of Game 6. Then, poof, he may as well have shoveled dirt on the Lightnings bench.

"So many guys on our team had already done that during the series so I knew I had to do something, he said afterward. Pound for pound, you couldnt find a player who spent more time patiently Taylor Rogers Jersey answering variations on the same questions while the party started around them. Think about that for a second.

Kane, like Toews set to start counting $10.5 million against the cap, said he didnt know what dynasty means. He should.

"It seems like it was the hardest one. Teams are getting better and better and faster and faster. We'll have to keep doing some adjusting as time goes on, he said.

The 28-year-old Swedish defenseman is easier to forget than he should be. Hes a play-driving, solid second-pair guy who knows when to block shots and when to back off. Thats a major skill set.

And there he was during the playoffs, paired largely with Keith, playing a similar amount of minutes, and getting, at times, lost in the frenzy. Over the last few weeks, it wasnt uncommon to see him answer questions about Keiths playing time with no mention of his own.

On Monday, he could finally cop to it: I can admit that. You just try to stay positive while youre in, try to find ways to get energy. But it was a tough one. It was a tough run, But its obviously worth every single drop of sweat when you reach the goal.

In an alternate universe, Jake Odorizzi Jersey Hjalmar son wasnt on the UC ice to give that answer at all. He signed a four-year, $14 million offer sheet with the Sharks in 2010 that Chicago matched. Doing that e sentially forced starting goalie Antti Niemi out of town and into, not coincidentally, San Jose. It worked out for the Blackhawks, but Hjalmar sons continued presence is proof of how tough it can be to keep these teams together and how amazing it is that Bowman was able to retool for two more runs.

Its hard to believe that the best two-way winger of his generation seemed, at one point, doomed. He signed with the Blackhawks after consecutive Cup Final lo ses with Pittsburgh and Detroit.

If he wasnt a Hall of Famer when he did that, he is now.

He brings so much to our team outside of statistics. He's taught our young players how to play, how to win, how to be a teammate, how to be a two-way player, Bowman said.

Those things pay off in spades. I mean, you watch the evolution of Patrick Kane, I don't know Tony Oliva Jersey that he'd be the same player today if he hadn't been playing with Marian his whole career.

Now, Ho sas done three victory laps.

"I'm coming to Chicago signing a 12-year deal and in the first six years winning three times, I mean, dream come true, he said.

Right now, he seems good enough to play until his contract runs out in 2022 at age 41 which is great news f