As the Olympic Break approaches, many Blackhawks fans are excited about the potential of the current roster but also have some level of apprehension when looking towards the future. Considering the salary cap concerns coming next summer, the odds are that the Blackhawks could be active in the trade market and Hawks fans don’t want to see their favorite player leave… especially if you just spent a couple hundred dollars on a jersey. With that in mind, between now and the March 3 trade deadline, we’re going to look back at some major trades in the history of the Blackhawks, and how they shaped the history of the franchise.
In the 1989-90 season, the Blackhawks had a fantastic season. Under new head coach Mike Keenan, the team stormed to the top of the Norris Division with 88 points. Behind Steve Thomas (team-high 40 goals), Steve Larmer (team-high 90 points) and Denis Savard (80 points in only 60 games), the Hawks had one of the most dynamic offenses in the league. They ended the season second in the Campbell Conference, and had the veteran leadership in place to make a deep run throught he playoffs.
They would do precisely that, defeating the Minnesota North Stars 4-3 and then the St. Louis Blues 4-3 before an epic six-game series with the Edmonton Oilers. The Hawks lost the series to the Oilers, being outscored 25-20 in the six games. One of the surprises from that playoff run was a young netminder that was called up for the playoffs. Ed Belfour posted a 4-2 record with an impressive 2.49 goals against average in that postseason after not appearing in a regular season game for the Hawks.
There was a feeling that something special was coming in the future for the Blackhawks.
Then, on June 29, 1990, newly-named General Manager Keenan made his first bold move to shake up the roster.
Keenan dealt alternate captain Savard to the Montreal Canadiens for Chris Chelios and a second round pick in the 1991 draft (which was used to select LW Mike Pomichter). The player coming back to Chicago had a fantastic resume, but leaving was an icon.
Savard was the third overall player selected in the 1980 draft (behind Doug Wickenheiser and Dave Babych), which was the highest the Blackhawks had selected in team history until Patrick Kane was taken with the first overall pick 27 years later. He set the franchise record with 75 points in his rookie season, created the “Spin-O-Rama” and was in the middle of one of the best lines in the team’s history with Larmer and Al Secord.
In the decade Savard had spent in Chicago, he had established himself as the best scorer the franchise had seen since Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita. He scored over 100 points four times in the 1980s, with an incredible 131 in 1987-88 (still the franchise record). He set the team record for assists in a season with 87 in 1981-82, and tied the mark in the 1987-88 season.
Moving Savard, who was just 29-years old at the time, was hard for any Hawks fan to stomach.
Coming back in the deal was Chelios, who wasn’t a slouch. Chelios, then 28, had played six full seasons for the Habs and had served as their co-captain with legend Guy Carbonneau in the 1989-90 season. In his six seasons, Chelios had scored 307 points (72 G, 235 A) in 390 games. He was a member of the All Rookie Team in 1985, finishing second in the Calder Trophy voting to some guy named Mario Lemieux. After the 1985-87 season, Chelios won his first Stanley Cup with Montreal. After the 1988-89 season, Chelios won his first Norris Trophy.
How did the aftermath of the trade work out?
Savard would win the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1993, and would then spend less than two seasons with Tampa Bay before being dealt back to the Blackhawks for a sixth round pick. In the four-plus seasons Savard spent away from the Windy City, he would score 242 points (96 G, 146 A) in 315 games. He was clearly not as productive as he was in Chicago, where he had scored 1,013 points (309 G, 704 A) in just 736 games.
Chelios, on the other hand, took his game to another level. He would win the Norris Trophy two more times, in 1993 and 1996, and would serve as the team’s captain from 1995-1999. With young players like Belfour and Jeremy Roenick, he helped transition the Hawks from the high-flying teams of the 1980s into the 1990s and kept them competitive. The Hawks would advance to the Stanley Cup Finals once while Chelios was in Chicago, losing to Lemieux’s Penguins in 1992. He would play in six All Star Games as a member of the Blackhawks before being traded to Detroit in March of 1999 for Anders Eriksson and two first-round draft picks.
When the trade went down, Hawks fans were stung by the loss of one of the most popular players in franchise history. But the return on the transaction was a player that is still held in the highest regard and who, if he ever retires, could see his jersey number hanging from the rafters at the United Center right next to Savard’s.
ESPNChicago is reporting that former Blackhawks captain Chris Chelios, currently playing for the Chicago Wolves, was pulled over in Westmont on Dec. 28 and charged with DUI.
Chelios was also charged with improper lane usage and speeding in the incident that ended with his truck being towed to the Westmont Police Department. ESPNChicago reports that Chelios has a Feb. 1 court date in Wheaton.
Oops.
Could it be? Could Chris Chelios come back to the Hawks?
Trade rumors are still flying around the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, but nothing has been substantiated yet.
The most prevalent rumorhas the Blackhawks sending defenseman Cam Barker to Ottawa for defenseman Alexandrre Picard and center Ryan Shannon. Also, in some way related to this transaction, Hawks defenseman Brent Sopel would somehow end up in Toronto.
While Barker and Sopel have been the most regular names in trade rumors lately, moving both of them would put the Hawks into a tough situation on their blue line. Right now, the Hawks only have seven defensemen with the team, and Jordan Hendry is regularly a healthy scratch.
Moving both Barker and Sopel, and only receiving one defenseman in Picard in return, would leave the Hawks shorthanded on the blue line.
Or would it?
Currently skating in Chicago in the AHL, for the independent Chicago Wolves, is 47-year old future Hall of Famer and Blackhawks hero Chris Chelios.
Chelios has been pretty clear about his desire to get back into the NHL, and has also been fairly blunt about wanting to play for a winner that’s also close to his suburban Chicago home.
Put two and two together here, people. A potential winner, close to Chicago…
Chelios also happened to captain the Hawks through some of their great seasons in the 1990s, before being dealt to Detroit. He’s still one of the most liked and respected personalities in the history of the Blackhawks organization.
However, Chelios hasn’t been around the Hawks organization for a decade. Indeed, the only times he was ever seen at the United Center were in a Detroit sweater, and that was when the coaching staff felt like dressing him. Frankly, the name Chelios was a ghost in the history books of the Blackhawks for years…
Until last Sunday night.
On Nov. 15, the Blackhawks hosted the San Jose Sharks and celebrated the great Chicago career of Jeremy Roenick. During the third period, the jumboscreen showed JR in the alumni box at the United Center, and a familiar forehead was in the corner of the picture. When the camera panned back, there was Chelios, sitting next to Roenick.
[On a personal note, I teared up a little bit as a Hawks fan seeing the two together again in the United Center. It felt like something had been made right 10 years too late.]
I know Chelios was there to enjoy an evening with an old teammate and friend, but his mere presence in the building was enough to make an old Blackhawks’ memory wander.
Now, if the Hawks are in need of a solid defenseman who won’t make stupid mistakes and play small minutes (maybe eight a night), could a return from Chelios be in the cards?
Sunday night, the Blackhawks will celebrate the career of Jeremy Roenick by honoring him with a “Heritage Night.” The thought of celebrating Roenick’s career got the wheels turning… so many memories, so many great highlights, such an ugly divorce.
What do you remember most about the Jeremy Roenick Era of the Chicago Blackhawks?
Roenick was drafted eighth overall in 1988 and climbed to the NHL level late that season. He pitched in 18 points in 20 games and was effective in the playoffs his rookie season.
Roenick’s first full season in the NHL, 1989-90, saw him score 26 goals and 40 assists as the Blackhawks improved 22 points in the standings. He was starting to establish himself as a leader on an aging team that was going through some dramatic changes.
After the 1990 season, in part because of Roenick’s emergence as a scoring threat, the Blackhawks traded long-time fan favorite Denis Savard to Montreal for Chris Chelios and a second round draft pick. Roenick backed up the faith (or penny pinching) or management in 1990-91 by scoring 41 goals, 53 assists (94 points) and he was selected to play in the legendary All Star Game at the Chicago Stadium that season. The Hawks jumped another 18 points to win the Presidents’ Trophy.
During the ‘90-’91 season, Roenick led the team with 10 game-winning goals, and he teamed up with Steve Larmer (who had 101 points that year) to give the Hawks one of the most potent offenses in the league.
The next season, 1991-92, was magic for the Blackhawks, as they advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Roenick scored 103 points that year (53 goals, 50 assists). He played in his second All Star Game, and was firmly established as one of the elite scoring forwards in the NHL.
The two seasons that followed that campaign made Roenick a legend in Chicago and a league-wide household name. JR had back-to-back 107-point seasons. That total was the highest for a Blackhawks player not named Savard since Bobby Hull’s incredible 107-point season in 1968-69.
Despite the team’s successes of the early 1990s, this was a time filled with frustration from Hawks players and the fans. The trade of Savard for Chelios ended up bringing another eventual Chicago legend home, but unloading one of the best players in franchise history wasn’t the easiest trade to stomach.
Again in large part due to Roenick having established himself as the team’s top scorer, the team moved another fan favorite, Steve Larmer, with Bryan March to Hartford for Eric Weinrich and Patrick Poulin, on November 2, 1993. Larmer hadn’t missed a game, or the playoffs, in a Chicago uniform in over a decade, but Dollar Bill Wirtz was beginning to show an unwillingness to keep a great core together. Larmer wanted to win the Cup, and Wirtz wasn’t showing any signs of keeping the Hawks competitive.
The reasons for Larmer’s departure seemed to effect many of the young Hawks as they entered the mid-1990s. So did Wirtz being one of the most recklessly cheap owners in the history of professional sports.
That 1993-94 season was Roenick’s fourth All Star Game, and he set career highs in power play goals (24) and short handed goals (five). He was +21, and ranked by a number of major publications as one of the top players in the league. But the Hawks fell back further in the standings, something Larmer wanted nothing to do with, and it was appearing that an implosion of the roster was coming.
It was in 1994 that Roenick took another step in his evolution as a legend: NHL ‘94 made Roenick a god.
In the movie “Swingers,” Vince Vaughn absolutely wrecks another guy on the game, referring to Roenick by name a couple times (including a supposed fight between Roenick and Wayne Gretzky on the great video game). It will be interesting to see if Vaughn, who was in attendance on Wednesday night at the United Center, makes another appearance for Roenick’s Heritage Night on Sunday.
Another development that began the erosion of Roenick’s roster status in Chicago in 1993-94 was the arrival of Tony Amonte. Just as Roenick did with Savard and Larmer, over the next couple seasons it would be Amonte’s talent, coupled with Roenick’s expiring contract, started to make the superstar expendable.
Roenick didn’t help himself, though. During the strike, Roenick infamously told the media that fans believing pro athletes were spoiled could “kiss my ass.” Unfortunately, pairing Roenick’s fan-directed comments with Wirtz was poison to a great fan base.
The final issue that would haunt the Blackhawks franchise was Wirtz’s disrespect for his players and the fans after the strike that shortened the 1994-95 season. Roenick scored 34 points in 33 games that season season (despite missing 15 games with leg issues), and the Hawks advanced all the way to the Conference Finals again. But 1995-96 was the final year of Roenick’s contract, and would be the end of his Chicago career.
Despite missing the final 11 games in 1996, Roenick led the team with 32 goals. When that season ended, Roenick ranked eighth all time with 596 points for the Blackhawks organization. His 267 goals were sixth all time (eventually eclipsed by one by Amonte), and he ranked in the organization’s top ten in assists as well.
That wasn’t good enough for Wirtz, though. Roenick wanted to get paid like a Top Ten hockey player, and Wirtz was running (and paying for) a Bottom Ten organization.
Roenick was traded to Phoenix on August 16, 1996 for Alexei Zhamnov and Craig Mills.
While the the organization tried to spin this as a move forward, it was clear that Bob Pulford and Wirtz were destroying what was one of the best young teams in the NHL piece by piece. Over the next three seasons, the Hawks would unload Ed Belfour, Chris Chelios and most of their paying fans in an effort to become an anonymous, losing franchise.
Roenick was sold as “washed up” and having lost a step on the ice, but Phoenix knew better. Roenick played in five All Star Games in the 12 seasons he played after leaving Chicago, and would prove to be a clutch playoff performer time after time.
Roenick would also continue stirring the pot after leaving Chicago. Even in his final season, one that saw him as an irrelevant player on the ice, Roenick made headlines when he claimed that Detroit head coach Mike Babcock hated American players, and refused to play Chelios because he was born in the US.
Do you remember Roenick for being a great scorer?
Do you remember Roenick for being one of those Chicago players that “got away”?
Do you remember Roenick for being a controversy waiting to happen?
Or…
Do you remember Roenick for being a god on NHL ‘94?
The point isn’t whether or not you remember Roenick, it’s how he’s placed in your memory. There is no questioning Roenick’s place among the great Blackhawks of all time, and Sunday night the team will celebrate his achievements.
Who would be better on the Blackhawks’ blue line: Brent Sopel or Chris Chelios?
Tale of the Tape
Brent Sopel
DOB: 01/07/1977 Ht: 6′2 Wt: 205 10 years NHL experience
Drafted 6th round (144th overall) by Vancouver in 1995
Current team: Chicago Blackhawks
Sopelis a 32-year old defensivemanwho is trying to make it on one of the youngest rosters in the NHL. He missed most of the 2008-09 season with an injury, but has come back to be the sixth blue liner on the Hawks’ roster.
His offensive game does not exist, and his contributions are minimal. Through nine games played (Saturday, October 24), Sopel has recorded just nine shots on goal, zero points, and is -3 for the season. His puck handling is mediocre, his passing is suspect, and he looks like a European pedophile who lives in a van outside the United Center.
He is the only player on the Blackhawks that has played in more than two games this year who has not yet scored a point. Only Tomas Kopecky andColin Fraser, both -4, have a worse rating than Sopel on the Hawks’ roster. He is averaging just 12:11 ice time per game.
Sopel is currently in the second year of a three-year contract worth $7 million; his salary cap figure is $2.3 million.
Why Sopel?
Because he’s currently under contract. The Blackhawks would have to buy out the remainder of this season and his $2 million salary for 2010-11, which isn’t a popular idea because of the Hawks’ proximity to the NHL salary cap. Sopel has also been a contributor to the Hawks’ power play killing unit this year, and is willing to sacrifice his body to block shots.
Why not Sopel?
Because he’s just not good enough. He makes the stupid mistakes in his own zone that often turn into goals, and does not exist offensively. He’s expensive and slow on his skates, and has not produced enough to merit a roster spot on a team that’s trying to win the Stanley Cup.
Chris Chelios
DOB: 01/25/1962 Ht: 5′11 Wt: 192 25 years NHL experience
Drafted 2nd round (40th overall) by Montreal in 1981
Current team: Chicago Wolves (AHL)
Cheliosis a first-ballot Hall of Fame player who’s entire resume reads like a Hall of Fame roster. He broke into the NHL with Montreal, and was an All Star in his rookie season. He was runner-up for the Calder Trophy that season to Mario Lemieux. He was a member of the 1985-86 Stanley Cup Champion Canadiens.
In 1990, he was traded from Montreal to Chicago with draft picks for Denis Savard, who’s in the Hall of Fame and is a current Blackhawks Ambassador. In Chelios’ first season with the Hawks, they would advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, the last time the franchise has been to the Finals.
Chelios was the Captain of the Chicago Blackhawks from 1995-1999, when he was dealt to Detroit. He added two more Stanley Cup championships to his resume in Detroit, giving him three rings for his career. He has also played in 11 All Star Games, three Olympics and won an NCAA National Championship at Wisconsin.
Why Chelios?
History. Cheliosis history, both to world-wide hockey and to the Chicago Blackhawks organization. He’s smart, savvy, and understands the game. He could be an ideal mentor for a young blue liner like Niklas Hjalmarsson. He has never been a player who makes dumb mistakes in his own zone, and has won the Cup before.
Also, a rented mule can block shots, which is pretty much all Sopel is doing for this team right now.
Why not Chelios?
Um… he’s 47 years old. Exchanging Chelios for Sopel would elevate Jordan Hendry into the sixth defender position, which isn’t ideal either. Hendry has played in just two games this year, and has not looked very good in either one. It’s doubtful that Chelios could play the 12 minutes per game that Sopelis providing right now, which would be a strain on the depth chart as well.
The jury says: Bring back Chelios
Sopel is not a championship player, and never has been. While Chelios might not be an elite blue liner like he was 10-25 years ago, he has been there and done that. Chelios would also bring a coaching presence to the locker room and ice that Sopel cannot; John Madden has already had a fantastic influence on young players like Kris Versteeg, which provides even more ammunition to the idea that Chelios would be a good idea.
When Marian Hossa comes off the IR in November, the Blackhawkswill have enough depth at the forward positions to potentially carry seven defenders. Andrew Ebbett has played well enough already that Colin Fraser might become a player that’s expendable.
He’s already in Chicago with the Wolves, so why not make him an offer everyone knows he wouldn’t refuse?
