Tonight the Chicago Blackhawks embark on a mission they haven't had since I was safely ensconced in my mother's womb.

No, not discovering fire.

Or inventing the wheel.

Fucking smartasses.

No, for the first time since the Spring of 1962, the Chicago Blackhawks are playing in defense of a Stanley Cup championship.

Strangely, a team whose fans waited 49 years since the last Championship open their season in Colorado, where the fans got a Championship the first year they had the team. Go figure.

So will it be easy? Shit no. Hell, last year was as easy as it will ever get. They weren't the Top Dog. They never even faced an elimination game in the playoffs. Nobody was gunning for them.

There are 29 teams that all want what the Blackhawks have. Yes, even the Oilers. Of course, wanting ain't getting.

That being said, the makeup of this team, starting from the Captain and Alternates down, is not one that has any indication of being satisfied. This is a team that hates losing. When Jonathan Toews was a rookie, he called out the Hawks for not hating losing enough. Patrick Kane hates to lose - it's no accident that he's scored the Hawks' last goal the past two postseasons.

Now, there's probably never been a Cup Champion with as much roster turnover as the Hawks have had. Of course, the turnover is all on the third and fourth lines and 7th defenseman (once Brian Campbell returns, unless Nick Leddy just sets the world on fire). Oh yeah, and the goaltending tandem. Brand-spanking new.

What does that mean? It could mean there's a bunch of guys who will just pucker up once it's crunch time. Or, it could be a bunch of guys who to a man don't want to be the reason the guys with rings don't get a second one. Of course, it would be easy for any of us to guess which way the chips fall, but if we knew that, we wouldn't need to have 82 games of hockey. And fuck that - I fucking love hockey.

Whether they fail to repeat this season or break off a run of Cup titles, it doesn't matter all that much. We've got one. As fans, we're happy with that. Shit, the Rangers are still partying like it's 1994. The players can't have that mindset. I don't believe I do.

But for now, let's celebrate the Hawks. I can think of no better way to do it than by violating one of the Cardinal rules we set up when we started this site. CT and I agreed this would be the game changer - especially since it seemed to grate on so many fans of other teams when it ran on Puck Daddy and Deadspin.

For the very first time on this site., you will see one half of the Hockeenight braintrust recorded on video celebrating the Blackhwawks. You can't see CT in this, because he had his sofa set up behind the camera. See you in the Shoutbox.