Under the previous ownership group (and back when only 5 teams missed the playoffs in any given year), it was club policy (or it seemed as if it was club policy) to redeem a crappy season with long playoff run. The team was built in order to compete within the division only, and hope they get lucky once they got out of the division.
Of course, back in those days, you stayed within your division until you reached the semi-finals in the playoffs. So really the team was geared, firstly to compete only within the Norris Division and until 1992 (iirc), they -whenever they reached the conference finals were usually chased out of the playoffs.
They were completely unable to compete within the context of the league as a whole.
Ok, so I mean there are obvious differences, and those being that the current playoff structure wouldn't allow a team to be built for competing only within their division ... however, the mindset that is ok with allowing a team to be built just to reach the playoffs and then hope they get lucky ...
usually you don't, and if you create a team "tradition" around that, and call something less than success, a success - then yeah, I like ice hockey - I am a hockey fan first before I am a hawk fan -and I am only talking about the big difference between building a team that is good enough to reach the playoffs and a team with a shot at winning it.
If you go by the idea that "you have to make the playoffs in order to win in them"- technically that is correct. And it worked for the Kansas City Royals in 1985 I think .... but normally it is like buying a lotto ticket. You end up with a ticket stub, and can use it for a book mark.
Or in other words --- how many World Series have the Florida Marlins won in the past 100 years? How many have the Cubs? How many times have the Cubs made the playoffs? (More than the Marlins I think)...
Which team would you rather have?
And would you want the Blackhawks' to be a version of the Cubs? Why? Personally I'd rather be in it to win it... but I understand where you are coming from; I just don't agree with it anymore. . . too many "get in the playoffs, and see if we get lucky... oh shucks -we just didn't get it done -- wait til next year."
No thanks...