Hawks, Flyers carry similar tradition into Stanley Cup Finals

Two teams with a tremendous amount of history, hungry for the Cup will meet this week in the Stanley Cup Finals.  The Hawks return to The Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 18 years.  The Flyers last played for the Cup following the 96-97 season.

More importantly, both franchises have storied pasts which includes Hall of Famers and previous Stanley Cup wins.  The Flyers franchise is best remembered for Bobby Clarke's "Broad Street Bullies," while the Hawks' history books are littered with records held by Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull.

Oddly enough, the pattern of success for both teams is a bit similar with the Hawks last winning a Stanley Cup in 1961 and the Flyers last winning in 1975.  Each club had a string of division championship runs in the '70s and carried that success through the '80s.

The Flyers did not need the type of franchise resuscitation that Rocky Wirtz was forced to oversee here in Chicago.  However, the Stanley Cup run that was supposed to be led by Eric Lindros never happened and the team's household names like Ron Hextall and Rick Tocchet have been gone for quite some time.

Now, the Flyers and Hawks bring revitalized fan bases and a plethora of tradition into The Stanley Cup Finals.