The most common way to turn around a terrible sports franchise is to acquire better players or bring in a new coach. But in the case of the Chicago Blackhawks, the most important change may have been the passing of team ownership from a father to a son.

By winning Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday night, the Blackhawks have taken a big step toward winning their third Cup in six years. They are a far cry from the team that made the playoffs just once in 10 tries from 1998 to 2008.

Starting in the 2008-9 season, the Blackhawks have won an amazing 15 of 19 playoff series.

When a team improves that much, plenty has to go right. In 2006, the Blackhawks selected Jonathan Toews with the third overall pick in the draft, and the next year they took Patrick Kane with the top pick. The two have been stars ever since and were first and second on the team in points again this season.

The hiring of Coach Joel Quenneville in 2008 was also a key moment. He has led the team to nothing but success and has more wins than any other active coach.