TBCH Digital BLAD

THE

BOOK OF THE

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS A DECADE -

BY-DECADE HISTORY

Copyright Š 2017 by the Chicago Tribune All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the publisher.

Chicago Tribune R. Bruce Dold, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Peter Kendall, Managing Editor Colin McMahon, Associate Editor George Papajohn, Investigations Editor Margaret Holt, Standards Editor John P. McCormick, Editorial Page Editor Marie C. Dillon, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Marcia Lythcott, Associate Editor, Commentary Associate Managing Editors Amy Carr, Features Robin Daughtridge, Photography Mark Jacob, Metro Cristi Kempf, Editing & Presentation Joe Knowles, Sports Mary Ellen Podmolik, Business Printed in XXX CIP TK 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

17 18 19 20 21

Midway is an imprint of Agate Publishing. Agate books are available in bulk at discount prices. For more information visit agatepublishing.com.

Contents FOREWORD ................................................................................ XXX INTRODUCTION. . .......................................................................

XXX

ABOUT THIS BOOK ....................................................................

XXX

CHAPTER 1 the

1920s AT FIRST, A CURSE........................ XXX

CHAPTER 2 the

1930s AN ODD COUPLE OF CUPS. . .......... XXX

CHAPTER 3 the

1940s HITTING THE SKIDS....................... XXX

CHAPTER 4 the

1950s FROM THE GROUND UP . . ............... XXX

CHAPTER 5 the

1960s GOLDEN DAYS............................... XXX

CHAPTER 6 the

1970s HEADING WEST............................. XXX

CHAPTER 7 the

1980s HOPE AND CHANGE...................... XXX

CHAPTER 8 the

1990s PEAKS AND VALLEYS..................... XXX

CHAPTER 9 the

2000s DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN...... XXX

CHAPTER 10 the

2010s RABBIT-OUT-OF-THE-HAT TRICK . . .... XXX

EXTRA INNINGS: THE BEST OF THE BLACKHAWKS . . ..............

XXX

CREDITS.. ..................................................................................

XXX

INDEX . . ......................................................................................

XXX

THE

1920s AT F I R S T , A C U R S E

Major Frederic McLaughlin had little patience. He expected—no, demanded—his new hockey franchise to establish itself as a hockey power from the start. With the remnants of the Portland Rosebuds, purchased from a dying league out west, and assorted talent cherry-picked from elsewhere, he did indeed launch the Chicago Blackhawks with enviable firepower.

McLaughlin’s initial 1926-27 squad included no fewer than five future Hall of Famers in Dick Irvin, George Hay, Mickey MacKay, Babe Dye and goaltender Hugh Lehman, and no team scored more goals that maiden season. Alas, no team surrendered more goals, either, and the Blackhawks sputtered to a third-place finish in the five-team American Division.

Even before their first-round playoff ouster, it was clear veteran coach Pete Muldoon, part of the Portland acquisition, was chafing under his hands-on commander. The two divorced at season’s end, after Muldoon was said to have cracked that the major was a quick study, “telling me what players should and should not do” after seeing his first hockey game. Contrary to hockey lore, it is doubtful Muldoon damned the franchise on his way out the door, prophesying the team would never finish a regular season in first place. The Canadian sportswriter who first wrote of the so-called Curse of Muldoon in the 1940s copped years later to inventing it, and Blackhawks publicists did not discourage the hex tale as it deflected from subpar play on the ice.

What’s indisputable is that—despite winning the Stanley Cup in 1934, 1938 and 1961, and other close calls—the Blackhawks did not finish with the NHL’s best regular-season record in any of their first 40 seasons. Muldoon wound up merely the first of 13 different men to serve as head coach under McLaughlin through the team’s first 13 seasons. The Blackhawks failed to make the playoffs in either of the two seasons following Muldoon’s departure, winning a combined total of just 14 games over that stretch, five fewer than the 19 victories of Muldoon’s lone campaign. If anyone was cursed, perhaps it was McLaughlin’s coaches.

7

1920s

1920s

Jan 1, 1928

8

AT FIR S T, A C U R S E

1920s Sept. 25, 1926 The National Hockey League awards a Chicago franchise to Major Frederic McLaughlin, the scion of a family that made its fortune in the coffee business.

Nov. 17, 1926 The Chicago Black Hawks make their debut at the Chicago Coliseum, defeating the Toronto St. Pats 4-1 before a crowd of around 9,000.

Dec. 15, 1929 A crowd of 14,212 sees the Hawks play their first game at Chicago Stadium, a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Jan. 21, 1928

April 23, 1927 The Hawks purchase three players from Winnipeg’s AHA team, including goaltender Charlie Gardiner, a budding star.

Barney Stanley is relieved of his duties as head coach and becomes the team’s business manager. Goalie Hugh Lehman takes over as player-coach. In Lehman’s first game in charge, the Hawks and Bruins play to a 1-1 tie at the Coliseum.

March 21, 1928 The Hawks close their second season with their 10th consecutive loss, falling 6-1 to the Rangers. They finish with a record of 7-34-3, last in the five-team American Division.

Aug. 25, 1928 The Hawks acquire defenseman Herb Gardiner on loan from the Montreal Canadiens and name him player-head coach. Gardiner had been the Canadiens’ captain and was the league’s most valuable player in the 1926–27 season.

1925

1926

1927

1928

1929

Feb. 14, 1929 March 25, 1927 Black Hawks are blanked by the Rangers 4-0 in New York and finish their inaugural season with a record of 19-23-3, good for third place in the American Division. The Hawks qualify for the playoffs, but lose in the first round to the Boston Bruins.

April 9, 1927 Head coach Pete Muldoon is fired and replaced by Barney Stanley. Stanley had been a player-coach with the Winnipeg club of the American Hockey Association.

With the Hawks’ record at 5-23-4 and the team well out of the playoff race, Herb Gardiner is returned to the Canadiens for the postseason. Captain Dick Irvin takes over as Hawks’ head coach.

March 1, 1929 The Tribune reports that Tom Shaughnessy, coach of a successful local amateur team and a former star player at the University of Notre Dame, will take over as head coach of the Hawks for the 1929–30 season.

AT FIRST, A CURSE

9

1920s

10

AT FIR S T, A C U R S E

1920s

AT FIRST, A CURSE

11

April 12, 1938

THE

1938

CUP

WINNERS

THE PLAYOFF SERIES QUARTERFINALS: Defeated Montreal Canadiens, 2 games to 1 SEMIFINALS: Defeated New York Americans, 2 games to 1 STANLEY CUP FINAL: Defeated Toronto Maple Leafs, 3 games to 1 HEAD COACH: Bill Stewart CAPTAIN: Johnny Gottselig THE PLAYERS: Rudy Ahlin, LW Glenn Brydson, RW Marty Burke, D Bert Connelly, LW Cully Dahlstrom, C Johnny Gottselig, LW Oscar Hanson, C Vic Heyliger, C Harold Jackson, D Roger Jenkins, D Virgil Johnson, D Mike Karakas, G Bill Kendall, RW Alex Levinsky, D Bill MacKenzie, D Mush March, RW Hickey Nicholson, LW Pete Palangio, LW Doc Romnes, C Earl Seibert, D/RW Jack Shill, C Paul Thompson, LW Lou Trudel, RW Carl Voss, C Art Wiebe, D

38

W

hen the Blackhawks clinched the 1938 title in Chicago, Lord Stanley’s Cup wasn’t in the house.

Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL, thought so little of the 1937-38 Hawks that, prior to the Cup finals against the heavily favored Maple Leafs, he had the Cup dispatched from Detroit—where the Red Wings had won it the previous season—to Toronto and didn’t bother to re-route it to Chicago even as the Hawks had a chance to clinch the series at home.

What’s more, the ’38 team is one of the most improbable winners in NHL history.

Those Hawks were the lowest scoring team in the league and backed into the playoffs with a 14-25-9 record. The team had an unheard-of eight American-born players.

And the clincher? The Hawks’ starting goaltender for Game 1 against the Maple Leafs was Alfie Moore, a member of the Leafs’ farm team, the Pittsburgh Hornets.

The Hawks’ No. 1 goalie, Mike Karakas, had a broken toe, and it wasn’t clear until the afternoon of the first game he would be unable to play.

Backup Paul Goodman was at home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and couldn’t make it to Toronto on time. Stewart tried to bring in a ringer, Davey Kerr, the standout goalie for the Rangers. But Conn Smythe, Toronto’s legendary manager, protested and the league nixed the plan.

Finally, Smythe agreed to let Stewart use his minor league goalie.

But time was short, and Hawks left winger Johnny Gottselig, who knew Moore, found him at a tavern, already several drinks for the worse.

“He’d had about 10 or a dozen drinks,” Gottselig said, recalling the incident years later in an interview with John Devaney, author of “The

Stanley Cup.” “We put some coffee into him and put him under the shower. By game time, he was in pretty good shape.”

The Hawks stunned the Leafs 3-1 and even won over Leafs fans, who gave Moore a standing ovation as he was carried off the ice by his teammates.

Smythe was irate to have been “beaten by a hungover, minor-league goalie,” and refused to allow Moore to play in Game 2.

Moore’s Game 2 replacement, Goodman, promptly was burned for five goals in a 5-1 loss.

The Hawks devised a way to fit Karakas’ skate with a steel guard to protect his broken toe and he came back to lead the team to a 2-1 victory in Chicago in front of 18,496, the largest-ever crowd to watch a hockey game at that time. Practically overnight, the underestimated team had become the toast of the town.

But Calder wasn’t buying the Cinderella story, and the Cup remained in Toronto as the Hawks clinched the title with a 4-1 victory in Game 4 of the best-of-five series.

None of the Hawks, who took home $1,000 each, was particularly concerned by the Cup slight. Stewart had a game to umpire just days later in Boston. And Karakas was keen to cash in on a bet he had made with teammate Roger Jenkins, who had told him, “If we win the Cup, I’ll push you down State Street in a wheelbarrow.” When Jenkins made good on the bet, a huge crowd turned up to view the spectacle, paralyzing traffic in the Loop.

The Hawks were champions for a second time, but the euphoria proved short-lived; the next season, the team won only 12 games, and Stewart was fired. •

1930s

AN ODD COUPLE OF CUPS

39

1960s

76

GOLDE N D AY S

1960s

GOLDEN DAYS

77

1960s

82

GOLDE N D AY S

1960s

Bobby Hull H

e came from an uncharted Canadian hamlet called Point Anne, with blond hair flowing and muscles bulging and face smiling. He looked like a movie star, did Robert Marvin Hull.

His earliest memories of his childhood in rural Ontario revolve around the game of hockey.

“I’d wake up early, build the fire in the kitchen and go out to the rink to bang pucks off the boards for hours,” Hull recalled in an interview with the New York Times in 1991. “The neighbors used to beg my father to make me wait at least till 7 a.m. before doing it.

“As a kid, I never walked from here to there, I didn’t trot from here to there. I ran. And I couldn’t wait for winter. My father would sometimes find me in the heat of summer standing in the house with my equipment on, sweating crazily. I just wanted the feel of it. Hockey became an obsession.”

Few, if any, played the game better. From the start, Hull was something special.

“When I think of Hull, I think of Gordie Howe, the all-time great I had with the Detroit Red Wings,” remarked an elated general manager Tommy Ivan when Hull autographed his first Hawks contract on that October morning in 1957.

The signature made Hull, age 18, the youngest hockey player in Chicago history. But, more significantly, Hull continued to make history in 15 brilliant seasons with the Blackhawks.

“In 1957, I made a boyhood dream come true,” Hull said in an interview with the Springfield State Journal-Register in 2008. “I thought playing a couple of years against the Gordon Howes and Rocket Richards and all that group would be great.

“After my third year, I won the scoring championship and said, ‘God, I think I can maybe stay here a while longer.’ All of a sudden the goals kept coming.”

From his first goal against Boston in the Stadium (“not a very artistic one, as I recall,” said Hull), to the 666th and final one as a Hawk in the 1972 playoffs at New York, Hull was the consummate athlete—an electric performer who became the National Hockey League’s premier attraction. But, perhaps more important, he became a personality.

He was the star of stars, yet he could be one of the guys. He was constantly badgered for this and that, yet he always had time to oblige a youngster’s autograph pad. While his famous slapshot was a terrifying 115 mph blur, the man behind it could be almost

LEFT WING 1958-1972

gentle—an excellent conversationalist, a jokester, just a nice fellow who carried his fame as aptly as he jettisoned a puck.

“If people think enough of me to want to shake my hand or talk to me or interview me,” Hull often said, “then time must be made for it.”

“I

sure am a lucky lad, aren’t I?” Hull grinned during his first training camp with the Hawks. Sure, he had scored 33 goals in his first season of junior competition with the St. Catharines Tee Pees, but this was the National Hockey League.

The 18-year-old Hull was not overmatched, though. He authored two modest seasons, managing 13 and 18 goals, but then he blossomed into a robust scoring machine. In 1958-59, he bagged 39 goals and 42 assists to garner his first of four scoring titles. He dipped to 31 goals the next winter, but he more than atoned for that come 1962.

Hull surged with 35 goals in his last 35 games that year, and in a meaningless season finale at New York, the Golden Jet found the net a 4:58 of the first period for his 50th. Only two players—Montreal’s Maurice “Rocket” Richard and Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion—had ever before reached 50 in a season. And here was Hull, a mere youth of 23.

For pure courage, hockey people will forever remember the 1963 playoffs against Detroit. In the opener, Hull scored twice on wrist shots; his shoulder, after all, was separated. In the second outing, his nose was smashed into a bloody mess. Team doctors figured there was no way he could return until at least the fifth game, and yet there was a way.

About three hours before Game 4, Hull walked into a Detroit hotel lobby. His eyes were black as night, his face puffed, and splints prevented his nose from collapsing. “I’m playing tonight,” Hull said. And he did. And he played miraculously throughout the series. Barely able to breathe, he rammed in three goals in the final game. Despite his heroics, the Hawks lost.

B

eing a man of conviction, Hull had his tiffs with management. He once left training camp for three days because the brass wouldn’t allow his two sons to skate at practice. He missed the first month of a season because he said management

GOLDEN DAYS

83

1960s

106

GOLDE N D AY S

1960s

GOLDEN DAYS

107

1970s

118

HE ADIN G WE S T

1970s

“He should have punched me in the mouth, but he just cried. It wasn’t long after that my father took him to an eye doctor and it turned out he needed glasses bad. After he got the glasses nobody could beat him.”

The Esposito brothers were the scourge of all the Sault Ste. Marie juvenile leagues after that, but then, at the age of 17, Tony decided to retire.

“I quit because I got disgusted,” he said. “In Canada, even when you’re a kid, you’re in organized stuff, and everybody’s oriented toward winning. So you get fed up. I just didn’t like it anymore. Who wants to go through all that? You’re always playing, and it’s just no fun.

“It wasn’t fun for me, and it still isn’t,” Esposito said near the end of his NHL career. “You always enjoy it after you win, but while you’re doing it, you don’t enjoy it at all. It’s a job, and then you set yourself a standard and you’ve got to maintain it. The toughest part is staying up here (in the NHL), not getting here.”

Tony’s father, Pat Esposito, a prominent Sault Ste. Marie contractor, refused to listen to that kind of talk.

“He didn’t quit,” Pat said, “there was just no league for him. There was juvenile hockey in town, and then there was nothing else.”

Pat, along with some other civic leaders, soon took care of that. They organized a junior team and arranged an affiliation with the Ontario Hockey Association. Tony was persuaded to come out of retirement and tend the goal.

“So I got sucked in again,” Tony recalled. “Then I got a hockey scholarship to Michigan Tech. Then Montreal offered me a good buck to join them when I was through with school, so I couldn’t turn it down.

You just keep getting in deeper and deeper.”

T

ony Esposito became entrenched in a game that few goaltenders ever come to love, and he distinguished himself from a lot of his colleagues by playing it so steadily. Others snapped under the pressure. Some developed reputations as unpredictable “flakes.” Goalie lore is full of fascinating stories about the toll taken by the position.

Years ago, Wilf Cude, a veteran goalie with the Canadiens, sat down to a pre-game steak. As he proceeded to smother it with ketchup, he started brooding about his role in life. He was existing in a constant hail of hard rubber disks, here inches in diameter and

HEADING W EST

119

THE

1990s PEAKS AND VALLEYS

TEAM OF THE DECADE FIRST TEAM Center: Jeremy Roenick Banner year: 1992-93 50 G, 57 A

Left wing: Steve Thomas Banner year: 1989-90 40 G, 30 A

Right wing: Steve Larmer Banner year: 1990-91

The 1990s would be a challenging decade for the Blackhawks, as 1998 marked the first time they missed the playoffs since 1969, kicking off a dismal, dysfunctional stretch for the club.

The Blackhawks sent Denis Savard, who clashed openly with coach Mike Keenan, to Montreal in 1990 for Chris Chelios, who grew up in the Chicago area. Savard would return to Chicago in 1995 for his final seasons as a player, and his number 18 was retired in 1998.

The 1990-91 Blackhawks racked up the league’s best record and had high hopes coming off two successive trips to the conference finals. But rather than take the Stanley Cup, they were bounced by Minnesota in the first round.

The following season, Jeremy Roenick became the third Chicago player to crack the 50-goals-in-a-season barrier, and the Blackhawks did return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1973. They finally got past conference rival Edmonton to face Pittsburgh for the title, but Mario Lemieux and company swept the Blackhawks, who would not return to the championship round for another 18 years.

Dominik Hasek, who was seeing limited playing time in goal as backup to Ed Belfour, was traded to Buffalo in 1992 en route to a Hall of Fame career. One of the draft picks acquired in the Hasek deal was used in 1993 to draft winger Eric Daze.

Former Blackhawks captain Darryl Sutter replaced Keenan as coach for the 1992-93 season.

Keenan was to focus on his general manager duties, but that didn’t last long. A power struggle between Keenan and Bob Pulford ended with owner William Wirtz siding with Pulford.

The Blackhawks played their last game in Chicago Stadium in April 1994, a conference quarterfinal playoff elimination loss to Toronto. Their debut in the mammoth United Center constructed just to the south was delayed by an NHL labor dispute, but the Blackhawks christened their new home ice on January 25, 1991, with a 5-1 victory over Edmonton.

Unwilling to pay fan favorite Roenick what he wanted, the Blackhawks in 1996 dealt him to Phoenix for Alexei Zhamnov, Craig Mills and a ’97 draft pick. Roenick said he had “great respect” for Wirtz, “He just wanted to keep salaries low, and I challenged that.”

Tommy Ivan, still a Blackhawks vice president, died in 1999 at age 88.

44 G, 57 A

Defense: Chris Chelios Banner year: 1992-93 15 G, 58 A

Defense: Gary Suter Banner year: 1995-96 20 G, 47 A

Goalie: Ed Belfour Banner year: 1990-91 43-19-7, 2.47 GAA, 4 SHO

SECOND TEAM Center: Brent Sutter Banner year: 1992-93 20 G, 34 A

Left wing: Joe Murphy Banner year: 1993-94 31 G, 39 A

Right wing: Tony Amonte Banner year: 1996-97 41 G, 36 A

Defense: Dave Manson Banner year: 1990-91 14 G, 15 A

Defense: Steve Smith Banner year: 1992-93 10 G, 47 A

Goalie: Jeff Hackett Banner year: 1997-98 21-25-11, 2.20 GAA, 8 SHO

(Statistics are regular-season only)

1 59

2000s

Toews continued. “He brings a lot of great things aside from what he brings on the ice. It’s just in his personality. It’s inherent in who he is.”

During his decade-plus with the Hawks, there was no one who was a more vocal member of the team. After victories, Seabrook’s voice could be heard through closed dressing room doors with shouts of “How about them Hawks!” That enthusiasm has been a trademark of Seabrook’s.

“I’ve always been a rah-rah type of guy,” Seabrook said. “I like to have fun; I like to get guys laughing.

196

DAR K E S T B E F O R E TH E D AW N

Sometimes it’s a little bit more serious than you’d like it to be, but it’s all part of it, and for the most part we’ve had a lot of fun here.”

Even after he officially became a part of the leadership group, Seabrook didn’t plan to change a thing.

“I’m not going to change my game or do anything different vocally,” Seabrook said. “You wear the letter because of the guy you are, the player you are and the things you kind of do, right? When Toews was given the ‘C’ I don’t think he changed one bit. . . . And (Keith) is the same way.”

Seabrook received a congratulatory text from longtime teammate Sharp, who was traded to the Stars in the summer of ’15.

“He’s always been a leader in that locker room,” Sharp said. “He’s one of the best teammates I’ve had in my career. It was probably a no-brainer to put the ‘A’ on his chest.”

With that letter, Seabrook was able to talk to referees during the game in an official capacity.

“I don’t know if that’s a perk or not,” Seabrook said with a grin. “I’ve always had good relationship with the referees. . . . We have a lot of mutual respect.”

Building respect with officials, coaches and fellow players is what landed Seabrook a coveted letter for one of the NHL’s Original Six teams.

“It’s such a storied franchise with a lot of history and a lot of great players that have been through here,” Seabrook said. “I’m very honored to be able to wear it and be part of the group.”

Whatever the Hawks need from Seabrook, he stands at the ready—power play, penalty kill, anything it takes, anytime it’s needed.

“I like how competitive he is,” Quenneville said.

“He gives us some toughness in the back end. He’s not easy to play against. We give him tough assignments, playing against top guys, and he has that reliability.”

That reliability may not get Seabrook on the covers of magazines or in the cross hairs of TMZ. It might be as old-fashioned in today’s game as a wooden hockey stick. But slowly the quality turned Seabrook into one of the league’s sturdiest at his position.

“The thing I take most pride in and the fans love most is consistency,” Seabrook said. “Early in my career it was tough to find. That was one thing I really wanted to get better at. A lot of coaches worked with me and said, ‘You look at the best defensemen in the league and they’re consistent on a nightly basis.’”

To find one, Seabrook could just look in the mirror. •

2000s

DARKE ST BEFORE THE DAW N

197

THE

2010s

R A B B I T - O U T - O F - T H E - H AT T R I C K

TEAM OF THE DECADE FIRST TEAM Center: Jonathan Toews Banner year: 2013-14 10 13 15 28 G, 40 A

Left wing: Artemi Panarin Banner year: 2015-16 30 G, 47 A

Right wing: Patrick Kane Banner year: 2015-16

Paced by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the greatest decade in Blackhawks history began with coach Joel Quenneville’s squad improving on their 2009 visit to the conference finals, advancing in 2010 to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 18 years.

Emblematic of the team’s focus, defenseman Duncan Keith took a stick to the mouth in the decisive game of the conference championship series against San Jose, sacrificing seven teeth. “It’s only teeth,” Keith said. “It’s a long way from the heart.”

The end of the franchise’s 49-year run without a Stanley Cup would be shrouded in momentary confusion in Philadelphia, where few but Kane immediately realized he had scored the Game 6 overtime tie-breaker to take the championship. Video confirmation was required, and even then the puck seemed to vanish in the goal’s netting.

If winning were to become a tradition for the Blackhawks of this era, so too would general manager Stan Bowman being forced to turn over the post-championship roster around Toews and Kane to maneuver around league salary cap restrictions. Among the missing in 2010-11 were Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd and goalie Antti Niemi.

The Blackhawks were knocked from the first round of the playoffs the next two seasons.

But in a season shortened by a labor standoff, the 2013 Blackhawks led the league with a 367-5 record and eliminated defending champion Los Angeles with a double-overtime Game 5 goal by Kane for a hat trick, the conference championship and another shot at the Stanley Cup. The title series with Boston seemed destined to return to the United Center for Game 7, but Bryan Bickell tied Game 6 with 1:16 remaining and Dave Bolland nailed the game-winner 17 seconds later for the Cup. Los Angeles avenged its elimination, advancing to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final with a Game 7 conference championship victory over Chicago. The 2014-15 Blackhawks dropped their last three regular-season games, raising concerns about their postseason prospects.

Quenneville’s team nevertheless rallied to face Tampa Bay for the title. The Blackhawks downed the Lightning in six games to win the Stanley Cup for a third time in six seasons and sixth in franchise history. They’ve been seeking the elusive alchemy needed for yet another title run ever since.

10 13 15 46 G, 60 A

Defense: Duncan Keith Banner year: 2013-14 10 13 15

6 G, 55 A

Defense: Brent Seabrook Banner year: 2015-16 10 13 15

14 G, 35 A

Goalie: Corey Crawford Banner year: 2015-16 13 15

35-18-5, 2.37 GAA, 7 SHO

SECOND TEAM Center: Patrick Sharp Banner year: 2013-14 10 13 15 34 G, 44 A

Left wing: Brandon Saad Banner year: 2014-15 13 15

23 G, 29 A

Right wing: Marian Hossa Banner year: 2014-15 10 13 15 22 G, 39 A

Defense: Niklas Hjalmarsson Banner year: 2013-14 10 13 15 4 G, 22 A

Defense: Johnny Oduya Banner year: 2012-13 10 13

3 G, 9 A

Goalie: Antii Niemi Banner year: 2009-10 10

26-7-4, 2.25 GAA, 7 SHO

(Statistics are regular-season only; Stanley Cups are only those won with Blackhawks.)

199

2010s

202

R AB B IT- O U T-O F -T H E -H AT TR I C K

2010s

Jonathan Toews O

ne look at Jonathan Toews racing up and down the ice with unmatched drive and determination—the “C” on his sweater standing out under the lights—makes it clear why the Blackhawks follow the example their captain sets.

During games, Toews’ leadership attributes are easy to spot, but it is in moments off the ice, away from the TV cameras and adoring fans, that he is at his strongest as a leader.

It is Toews being the first player to raise his arms in triumph while racing across the ice to embrace an 8-year-old Make-A-Wish participant after the child scores a goal during a mid-winter practice.

It is Toews reaching out to a teammate who is struggling after the death of his closest friend and providing advice or just a shoulder to lean on.

It is conducting interviews with the media—in both English and French—while the rest of the players slip away to the team bus.

It is making sure that every teammate, even those who are scratches or just up from the minors, is made to feel he is an integral part of the group.

“That’s maybe something that I’ve learned to step outside of my own world a little bit as I’ve gone along in my career,” Toews said during the 2015 Stanley Cup media day at Tampa’s Amalie Arena. “What makes you a successful hockey player and successful person is you’re able to kind of widen your focus and understand your teammates a little bit more. To understand the dynamic of the locker room, it’s no simple thing.

You continue to try to learn every day. Try to understand what your teammates go through, especially some guys who are going through tough times.”

A prime example of that is Toews’ friendship with winger Daniel Carcillo. When the veteran was dealing with the death of best friend Steve Montador while sidelined with a concussion, it was Toews and a few other Hawks veterans who reached out with compassion to help their teammate cope with the loss. “(Toews) has been awesome,” Carcillo said. “To be able to open up to another player is hard to do, because, yeah, we see each other every day and we have that relationship, but to talk about something that you’re going through, it’s almost like you don’t want to because you don’t want to distract them or bring them down.

“He reached out and kept reaching out when I wasn’t with the team (because) he knew I was going through a hard time. He’s a special guy.”

CENTER 2008-

With all Toews has accomplished, including three Stanley Cups with the Hawks, two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada, Selke and Conn Smythe trophies, it is the respect the Winnipeg native has earned from teammates and opponents alike that best illustrates his leadership and on-ice skills.

“There are guys who lead on the ice and there are guys who lead in the dressing room—he does both,” Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith said. “He’s the prototypical captain that you want on your team. His demeanor and the way he cares, his passion and his commitment to hockey rubs off on not only younger guys but older guys too.”

Said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville: “Will, competitive, warrior, leader—he has all the intangibles you’d like to see in a hockey player. He makes people around him better . . . (and) more competitive. The way he finds ways to be successful individually and collectively is what probably makes him go better than any player.”

Brenden Morrow, a 15-year NHL veteran, was Toews’ teammate with Canada in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and came away impressed.

“I don’t think he has a single bad habit,” Morrow said. “Winning follows him around for a good reason.

He’s as competitive as they come and mature beyond his years. (He’s) a vocal guy, but as vocal as he is as a leader, he leads by example because his habits are so good. I can’t say enough about the player he is.”

After being named the third-youngest captain in NHL history in 2008 at 20, Toews has continued to grow into the role and he said he does that by observing teammates.

“My definition of being a good captain is . . . to learn from the other guys in the room and what they do,” he said. “We have a great group (that) understands what it means to be part of a team and give everything they have toward the common goal. We all feed off each other. A lot of guys in the room have a lot to give and I’ve definitely been a beneficiary of that. Win or lose, you take responsibility for it, but it’s a lot of fun to be part of a group with guys like that who understand the same things.”

A

s a kid, Jonathan Toews threw the worst sleepovers.

Just ask Tyler Riel, a friend who went one night

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2010s June 9, 2010

THE

2010

CUP

WINNERS

THE PLAYOFF SERIES CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS: Defeated Nashville Predators, 4 games to 2 CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: Defeated Vancouver Canucks, 4 games to 2 CONFERENCE FINAL: Defeated San Jose Sharks, 4 games to 0 STANLEY CUP FINAL: Defeated Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 2 HEAD COACH: Joel Quenneville CAPTAIN: Jonathan Toews THE PLAYERS*: Bryan Bickell, LW Dave Bolland, C Nick Boynton, D Troy Brouwer, RW Adam Burish, C Dustin Byfuglien, D/RW Brian Campbell, D Ben Eager, LW Colin Fraser, C Jordan Hendry, D Niklas Hjalmarsson, D Marian Hossa, RW Cristobal Huet, G Patrick Kane, RW Duncan Keith, D Tomas Kopecky, RW Andrew Ladd, LW/C John Madden, C Antti Niemi, G Brent Seabrook, D Patrick Sharp, C Brent Sopel, D Jonathan Toews, C Kris Versteeg, RW *List only includes players who participated in the postseason

20 8

T

his was the perfect, artful ending for Chicago, Patrick Kane frolicking down the ice with a finger raised into the air and smiling like the kid he is.

This was hockey symmetry, one of the Blackhawks’ franchise players ending 49 years of Stanley Cup futility for that franchise with a goal in overtime that gave his team a 4-3 victory over the Flyers in Game 6 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

This was worth the wait, through four decades, through the dark period not that long ago, through a very tense overtime period.

That’s when Kane scored on Michael Leighton at the 4:06 mark with one goal that fulfilled “One Goal,” finishing off a Flyers team that wouldn’t go away and giving a Blackhawks organization the toughest trophy in pro sports to win.

Lord Stanley, welcome back to Chicago. It has changed a lot since 1961. But the satisfaction is still the same.

With both hands, Blackhawks captain and playoff MVP Jonathan Toews, the other franchise player, hoisted the silver chalice on the ice as cameras clicked photos of Toews and his giddy teammates for posterity.

Say Cheesesteak.

In the city in which a fictional boxer inspired generations of underdogs in a movie telling his story of redemption, another Rocky celebrated a ragsto-riches triumph that only felt too good to be true.

Six years after seeing his family’s team ranked the worst organization in professional sports, Rocky Wirtz now could boast of owning the best hockey team in the land.

From Wirtz to first indeed.

The Blackhawks did it, ending 49 years of waiting for the most patient of hockey cities.

They did it with skill and speed and strength

that never failed them in the playoffs when they needed it most. They did it with physical talent and mental toughness.

They did it with a combination of force and finesse, grit and grace, that was no accident.

This was the vision of team President John McDonough, who spent 24 years with the Cubs but made his North Side friends envious by presiding over a Stanley Cup champion in his only third season with the Blackhawks.

This was the design plotted by general manager Stan Bowman, more than just the son of Scotty, since he assumed his new job last summer after eight years in the Hawks front office.

This was the plan executed by Joel Quenneville, he with the legendary mustache, who now has a resume even more impressive.

This was due to so many people who, well, committed to the Indian.

Kane and Toews fulfilled the promise surrounding them since their rookie season of 2007 when the magic returned.

Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook gave the ’85 Bears a run for their money as the toughest defensive line in Chicago sports history.

Goalie Antti Niemi disproved doubters from here to Helsinki, coming up bigger than ever after the Flyers’ late third-period goal that tied it 3-3 and into overtime.

Dustin Byfuglien, whose first goal came on a power play with nemesis Chris Pronger in the penalty box, became the name first mentioned when Chicago sports fans discuss clutch playoff performances.

Marian Hossa dispelled any thoughts of a Stanley Cup curse as he won for the first time in his third straight finals with his third different team.

“Wow!” Toews screamed as he passed the Cup to Hossa.

2010s

Give the Flyers credit. They were harder to get rid of than hiccups.

After Andrew Ladd’s goal off a redirect from Niklas Hjalmarsson gave the Hawks a 3-2 lead at the 17:43 mark of the second period, they wouldn’t go away.

There were 3 minutes, 59 seconds left to the champagne celebration when Scott Hartnell banged in a goal that came off Ville Leino’s stick and bounced off Hossa’s skate past Niemi.

It was the type of play that makes hockey impossible to predict, a maddening, tough-luck bounce hard to prevent and even harder to plan against—which makes it typical for long-suffering Hawks fans to watch.

Kane’s goal won it for you and your neighbor hanging the Hawks flag and everybody who watched the game five-deep at a bar back home. This was for you guys.

This was for Keith Magnuson and Doug Wilson, Eddie O. and Cheli, and all the other proud former Blackhawks who dreamed of winning a Cup in Chicago.

This was for Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, two guys who won the last one 49 years ago, whose return to the organization helped bridge tradition with potential.

This was for Dale Tallon and Denis Savard, the former GM and coach, respectively, whose work identifying and developing the young talent on the Hawks made all this possible.

This was for all the fans who stuck behind the team when you couldn’t find them on TV and you couldn’t talk about them on sports-radio shows because hosts were ordered to discuss anything but the Blackhawks.

This was about ending grudges, healing wounds, bringing back fans and indoctrinating new ones. This was about making right what had been wrong for so long. •

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Patrick Kane E

arly in Patrick Kane’s NHL career it seemed nary a month passed before a photo or so-called eyewitness account of the Blackhawks star enjoying himself—often a little too much—while out on the town would pop up on the Internet or light up social media.

Kane became a popular target for websites, regardless of accuracy. Some of the accounts were true—as Kane has acknowledged—and some were false.

There is no question, however, Kane was enjoying the fruits of being a young and affable professional athlete who helped resurrect one of hockey’s storied franchises.

Eventually, the dynamic winger’s exploits on the ice—and not off it—began seizing the headlines. What happened to the free spirit from Buffalo, N.Y., who at one point seemed to be on the path to jeopardizing his career with his fun-loving ways?

Kane apparently grew up.

In the summer, he surrounds himself with family and friends in his hometown and spends much of the time working out, playing in pickup hockey games and relaxing at his lakeside house.

During the season when the spotlight shines brightest, Kane goes to dinner with teammates while on road trips. The next stop is usually the safe haven of his hotel room.

“Sometimes it’s nice just being in your own room and having a quiet night and relaxing and getting ready for the game,” Kane said. “That’s kind of where my focus is now, just trying to prepare myself as best I can and focus on the next game.”

Would a 21-year-old Kane believe what this older, more mature Kane is saying—that life is better in the solitude of a hotel room and not in bars and nightclubs?

“No, times have changed for sure,” he said. “It’s totally different than where I used to be. I always loved the game and I always tried to do my best, but the preparation is just at a different level now.”

Here’s the thing about keeping a low profile in the days when everyone has a cellphone and they’re not bashful to take photos or video with them: Stay on the straight and narrow and there is nothing unflattering to document.

“It’s tough, but it’s part of the deal these days,” Kane said of being in the public eye. “One thing that has really changed is the social media with Twitter and everything. Once that came out, at the time you don’t know how big it is and how much of an effect it can have on

RIGHT WING 2008-

you. If you do something wrong, it’s going to be all over the place. Not only does that go for me, but anyone in here. You just really have to be aware of it.”

But Kane hasn’t evolved into a wallflower. As one of the most recognizable sports figures in Chicago and North America and a player who signed an eight-year, $84 million contract in 2014, he likes to have his fun.

Kane is just improving on the ways he’s having it.

“I feel I’m getting better for sure,” he said. “I feel like the growth has been pretty good.”

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville has been around for most of Kane’s NHL career and agrees with that assessment.

“He has matured (more) as an individual and as a player every year,” Quenneville said.

Added close friend and teammate Jonathan Toews: “He’s laid back. He knows the things he needs to do to be successful and stay focused. He has learned more about himself as a person and a player.”

Not coincidentally, along with Kane’s growth as an individual has come a raised level of play for the Hawks.

Kane’s individual honor roll includes the Calder Trophy he won as the league’s top rookie in 2008, the Conn Smythe Trophy he won as the most outstanding player in the 2013 playoffs, the Art Ross Trophy he won for leading scorer in 2016 and the Hart Trophy he won that same year as the league’s most valuable player.

“He has been so consistent for us,” Toews said.

“Even nights when scoring is tough and maybe as a team we aren’t creating much, he still finds ways to get on the board and create for our team. On the power play (or) five-on-five, it doesn’t really matter. He’s out there and he wants to score and he’s hungry. It’s great to see him playing at that level. He definitely has proven that he is one of the best in the world.”

Kane’s growing pains away from the game, which throughout the years included the ill-fated cab ride in Buffalo, the limo excursion in Vancouver and the Cinco de Mayo festivities in Madison, Wis., might bring some regret, but they aren’t something Kane ignores.

“Everyone has their own little route,” he said. “Everything that I went through made me who I am today and the player I am today.”

H

elping Kane along the way is a close-knit family that includes his parents, Pat Sr. and Donna, and sisters Erica, Jessica and Jacqueline.

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Overtime THE BEST OF THE BLACKHAWKS

The difference is in the details. A die-hard fan knows them while a bandwagonjumper generally doesn’t. A die-hard fan knows, for example, that the Bentley brothers (Doug and Max) were Blackhawks teammates. So were the Hull brothers (Bobby and Dennis). But the Esposito brothers were not, because while both played for the Hawks, Phil was traded before Tony was acquired.

The die-hard also will have an opinion about that Phil Esposito trade, and it likely will be expressed with terms unsuitable for publication here.

To whom is the Norris Trophy awarded each year? A die-hard fan knows it goes to the NHL’s best defenseman, and that same die-hard probably knows the name of each of the four Blackhawks who have won it (three of them multiple times).

If you’re not sure what sort of fan you are, spend some time with this next chapter. By the time you’re through, well . . . you’ll know.

IN THIS SECTION The Top 100 page XXX

The Honor Roll page XXX

The Top 5 Worst Trades page XXX

The Captains page XXX

The Top 5 Best Trades page XXX

The Trophy Case page XXX

245

OVERTIME

The

TOP100 penalty minutes in each of his first two seasons. Played on two Cup finalists. Also served as head coach for one full season (1980-81) and most of another (’82-82).

44. Pat Stapleton: Known as “Whitey” for his shock of bright blond hair. Steady defenseman served as captain for one season (1969-70) and was top blueliner on two Cup finalists (’71 and ’73).

Recorded 50-plus assists twice in his 8 years with Hawks. Defected to WHA’s Chicago Cougars in 1973.

43. Antii Niemi: Only five goalies can say they were in net for a Hawks Stanley Cup championship and he’s one of them.

42. Eric Nesterenko: Only Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita played in more games as a Hawk.

Strong, smart defensive player and penalty-killer known for his sharp elbows. Scored 19 goals for ’61 Cup winners.

41. Bob Murray: Fifteen seasons in NHL, all with the Hawks. Fourth all-time in games played in franchise history. Sturdy defenseman who later became team’s general manager.

40. Darryl Sutter: Scored 161 goals in 8 seasons as a Hawk. Wore the captain’s “C” for four seasons (1982-1986) and served as coach for three (1992-95).

39. Johnny Gottselig: Russian-born

winger played 16 seasons with Hawks and served as coach for four. Played on ’34 and ’38 Cup winners and was leading scorer in ’38 playoffs with 5 goals and 3 assists in 10 games.

38. Dennis Hull: Bobby’s little brother—

winners never missed a game over six seasons from 1928-1934. Had a career GAA of 2.02 in the regular season, 1.43 in playoffs.

35. Tony Amonte: Fell into Hawks’ lap after he wound up in Mike Keenan’s doghouse with the Rangers. Sixth in franchise history with 268 goals as a Hawk. Traded when Hawks didn’t want to pay him fair value, though his post-Chicago career was unremarkable.

34. Doug Bentley: Small, quick winger was first Hawk to lead league in scoring with 73 points in 1942-43. Led NHL in goals in back-to-back seasons (’42-43 and ’43-44) and did the same in assists (’4748 and ’48-49). Briefly teamed with Bill Mosienko and younger brother Max Bentley on famous “Pony Line.”

33. William “Bill” Wirtz: Took over as chairman in 1966 from his father, Arthur. Loyal to a fault. Known for quiet acts of generosity but nicknamed “Dollar Bill” for his tight-fisted approach to running franchise. Refused to put home games on local television and let several stars leave town over salary disputes. Helped get United Center built and did it without public funding.

32. Doug Wilson: His 554 assists rank third

in franchise history. Scored 39 goals in 1981-82, a team record for a defenseman, and won Norris Trophy. One of the last helmet-less players in NHL, but if you had a head of hair like his, you wouldn’t want to cover it up, either.

31. Bob Pulford: Shuttled between front

office roles and head coaching position several times during long career with Hawks. Had 128-119-48 record as coach over parts of seven seasons. Was reassigned to Wirtz Corp. as a vice president in 2007, one of first moves made by Rocky Wirtz when he took over the team.

30. Ed Olczyk: Chicago-born center scored 20

a.k.a. the “Silver Jet”—was no slouch. His 298 career goals rank fifth in team history. Dennis’ best year was 1970-71, when he scored 40, second on the team only to Bobby’s 44.

goals as a rookie in 1984-85. Played five of his 17 NHL seasons with Hawks—the first three (1984-87) and the last two (1998-2000). One of several ex-Hawks who won a Cup with Mike Keenan’s Rangers in 1994.

Now a top TV analyst for Hawks and NBC.

37. Tommy Ivan: Long-time general man-

29. Bill Hay: Played in three Cup finals and

ager built the ’61 Cup winners. Known as a keen judge of talent, he traded for two goalies who became Hall-of-Famers (Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito) and hired two of the most successful coaches in Hawks history (Rudy Pilous and Billy Reay). Also served a season-and-a-half as head coach in the late ’50s.

250

36. Charlie Gardiner: Goalie for ’34 Cup

T HE B E S T O F T H E B L A C K H AWK S

was member of ’61 champs. Centered the “Million Dollar Line,” flanked by Bobby Hull and Murray Balfour. Spent all eight of his NHL seasons with Hawks. When they left him unprotected in expansion draft, he retired at age 31 rather than report to St. Louis.

OVERTIME

28 Ed Belfour: His 9,763 saves as a Hawk are

most in team history. Won Calder Trophy as league’s top rookie and Vezina Trophy as top goalie in 199091. Also won Vezina in 1992-93. Traded to San Jose in 1997 in what was basically a salary dump. Later won a Stanley Cup with Dallas.

27 Dale Tallon: Defenseman played 10

seasons in NHL, five of them with Hawks. Became a broadcaster after his playing days, later served as GM who drafted or acquired many of the players who won Cup in 2010.

26. Brent Seabrook: Eighth all-time in games played a Hawk. Often-underrated defenseman has a knack for scoring big goals, especially in the playoffs. Three-time Cup winner.

25. Mush March: Fast, aggressive winger

played 17 seasons, all with Hawks. Scored only goal of Game 4 of ’34 Cup final at 10:05 of second overtime to give Hawks their first title. Also member of ’38 Cup winners.

24. Niklas Hjalmarsson: Three-time Cup winner now in his 10th season as a Hawk. Fearless shot-blocker and tenacious defender who is often paired against an opponent’s top line.

23. Patrick Sharp: Stolen from the Flyers in a trade for Matt Ellison in 2005. Scored 30 or more goals four times and won 3 Cups with Hawks. His 38 game-winning goals are tied with Jeremy Roenick for ninth place in team history.

22. Al Secord: Rugged winger is only Hawk besides Bobby Hull and Jeremy Roenick to score 50 goals in a season (54 in 1982-83). Had two other seasons with 40-plus goals, including his first full season with Hawks, ’81-82, when he scored 44 times despite serving 303 minutes in penalties.

21. Pierre Pilote: Highly skilled prototype of modern rushing defenseman. Set NHL scoring mark for points by a defenseman with 59 on 14 goals and 45 assists in ’64-65. Won three consecutive Norris Trophies (’63-’65) and was member of ’61 Cup winners.

T HE BE ST OF THE BLACKHAW KS

251

THE

BOOK OF THE

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS A DECADE-BY-DECADE HISTORY By the Chicago Tribune Staff The Chicago Blackhawks, one of the NHL’s “Original Six,” have been building their storied legacy for more than 10 decades. Since their founding in 1926, the Hawks have won six Stanley Cup championships and produced dozens of standout stars, from Hall of Fame goaltender Mike Karakas in the ’30s to Bobby “The Golden Jet” Hull in the ’60s to current team captain Jonathan Toews. And the Chicago Tribune, the team’s hometown newspaper, has been covering it all from the very beginning.

Published to coincide with the start of the 2017–18 season, The Chicago Tribune Book of the Chicago Blackhawks is a decade-by-decade look at the city’s 21st-century sports dynasty. Curated by the Chicago Tribune sports department, this book documents every era in the team’s history—from the 1920s to the present day—through the newspaper’s original reporting, in-depth analysis, comprehensive timelines, and archival photos. Each chapter includes profiles on key coaches and players, highlighting the “team of the decade” as well as every Stanley Cup championship. Bonus “overtime” material—stats and facts on championships, Hall of Famers, famous lines, memorable trades, and more—provides a blow-by-blow look at all 90 years of the franchise’s history.

The fourth in Agate Midway’s photography-driven line of Chicago sports books in partnership with the Tribune, this volume is a first-of-its-kind hockey collector’s item in a beautiful, high-end gift package— publishing in time for the holidays. The Chicago Tribune Book of the Chicago Blackhawks is a bold, imageladen tour through ice-hockey history that any Chicago sports fan will appreciate.

The Chicago Tribune staff comprises the award-winning editors and journalists working for this flagship

newspaper established in 1847. The Chicago Tribune Book of the Chicago Blackhawks features content collected by the paper’s sports section editors.

SPORTS & RECREATION / HOCKEY ISBN: 978-1-57284-231-1 October 10, 2017 | $35 | 9.5 × 11 | 292 pages

For more information, contact Jacqueline Jarik at 847.475.4457 ext. 4# or at jarik@agatepublishing.com.

Please supply two tear sheets of any published review.

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