Dale Tallon and Bill Torrey sit together often and talk about what it takes to build a championship team.
Torrey was the architect of the four-time champion New York Islanders, the team that won a remarkable 19 playoff series in a row — a mark that will never be equalled again.
Tallon did most of the heavy lifting in the building of the modern-day salary-cap dynasty Chicago Blackhawks, three-time winners and defending champions of the Stanley Cup. Tallon hired Joel Quenneville to coach, drafted Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, among others. The Blackhawks have changed over the years under Stan Bowman, but the core remains pure Tallon.