Chris Kuc

CHICAGO -- Sitting in the Blackhawks' dressing room at the United Center, Jamal Mayers scanned the faceplates adoring the stalls of his fifth set of new teammates in the last five seasons and pondered the toll his quest for a Stanley Cup is taking on his family life.

The desire to hoist the trophy has made the veteran forward a bit of a hockey nomad in the twilight of his career with stops in St. Louis, Toronto, Calgary and San Jose before he signed a one-year deal to join the Blackhawks this season. Mayers again uprooted his family, consisting of his wife, Natalie, and two young daughters, 5-year-old Langley and 3-year-old Harper.

"I've moved my family (often) with one singular objective -- to win the Stanley Cup," Mayers, 37 in October, told the Tribune. "I used to joke with my wife because we were in St. Louis for 12 years that we were going to make it up in the last six years. Unfortunately, that's holding true.

CHICAGO -- A year after Patrick Kane fired a shot into the goal in overtime to give the Blackhawks their first Stanley Cup championship since 1961, the game-winning puck is still missing.

The rubber disc hasn't been found since it was dug out of the net while the Blackhawks celebrated their victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at the other end of the ice. An auction house says the sports collectible is worth six figures, at least, and a Chicago sports collector is offering a $50,000 reward for its return.

Images from the game showed veteran linesman Steve Miller looking at the puck in the moments after Kane's goal, but he has adamantly denied that he touched it.

CHICAGO -- It's amazing how quickly time flies when you're not having as much fun as last season.

CHICAGO -- The losses continue to mount for the Blackhawks, as are questions about what exactly is wrong with the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

The Hawks dropped their fourth consecutive game at the United Center on Wednesday night when they fell, 2-1, to the previously struggling Coyotes.

CHICAGO -- Chicago hockey fans can now be split into two distinct groups: Those who saw Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith's puck-to-the-mouth toothsplosion and felt nauseous, and those who didn't bat an eye when the veteran player skated back on the ice seven teeth lighter.