Chicago Black Hawks

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Chicago Blackhawks

Entered NHL: 1926
Stanley Cups: 1934, 1938, 1961, and 2010
Hall of Famers: Sid Able, Ed Belfour, Doug Bentley Max Bentley, Georges Boucher, Frank Brimsek, William Burch, Paul Coffey, Art Coulter, Cecil “Babe” Dye, Anthony Esposito, Phil Esposito, Bill Gadsby, Charles Gardiner, Doug Gilmour, Michel Goulet, Glenn Hall, George Hay, Bobby Hull, Dick Irvin, Gordon “Duke” Heats, Hugh Lehman, Ted Lindsay, Harry Lumley, Duncan “Mickey” Mackay, Stan Mikita, Howie Morenz, Bill Mosienko, Bert Olmstead, Bobby Orr, Pierre Pilote, Denis Savard, Earl Seibert, Allan Stanley, John Stewart, Lionel Conacher, Roy Conacher, Clint Smith, and Harry Watson

One of the six original teams to have entered the NHL, the league was dominated by Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Chicago Blackhawks found some success in the league when they acquired young stars from Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita to Jeremy Roenick and Chris Chelios.

After the expansion of the NHL, the Hawks found it difficult to stay competitive amongst the other teams in the league. After the millennium, the team went through their lowest periods as a team. After the 2004-05 NHL Lockout, in hopes to rebuild their team, the Hawks feverishly sought after highly touted free agents. Unable to do so, the team finished second last in the league.

The 2006 NHL Entry Draft saw the Chicago Blackhawks with the third overall pick. They selected a young superstar by the name of Jonathan Toews, who is now the current Captain of the Hawks. With next year’s first overall pick, they chose Patrick Kane. The duo would become the centerpiece for what would be the revival of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Stanley Cup Champions

With a core group that included Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, Troy Brouwer, and the defensive core group of Dustin Byfuglien, Brian Campbell, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook, the Hawks acquired coveted all-star forward Marion Hossa to bolster their lineup. The team went to have a successful season going 52-22-8. Heading into the playoffs, the Hawks got many other contributions from their lineup. Defeating the Nashville Predators in the first round, the Hawks for the second straight year, were up against the Vancouver Canucks. In a six game battle, the Hawks saw key players elevating their game to another level. Christobal Huet and Antti Niemi shared a role in net during the regular season, with Huet starting just 9 more games. Niemi would overtake that number one spot during the Hawks run during the playoffs.

The Hawks swept the Western Conference Champions, the San Jose Sharks, to compete for the Stanley Cup against the seventh seeded Philadelphia Flyers. The deciding game went to game six in overtime. Patrick Kane would score the overtime winner with a shot that had just squeaked by the pads of the Flyers net minder.  It was only until Kane and Sharp were celebrating, that the team realized that he had scored. It was the longest active Stanley Cup drought since the Hawks won the Cup in 1961. Jonathan Toews would go on to win the Conn Smyth Trophy as playoff MVP.

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