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99-649: Their first game was against the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League on October 12, 1966 at the Ohio Expo Fairgrounds Coliseum. The team was originally coached by Moe Bartoli , however after the 1967–68 season, Bartoli was involved in a dispute with the teams owners, and left. Jack Turner took over as the team's Head Coach at the start of the 1968 season. Notably, Alton White , who would become

198-651: A 13-year extension worth $ 72 million on December 1, 2009. On April 6, 2010, the Hawks won their 50th game of the 2009–10 season against the Dallas Stars , setting a new franchise record for wins in a season. The next night, the Blackhawks notched their 109th point of the season in a game against the St. Louis Blues, setting another franchise record. The Blackhawks made the playoffs for the second consecutive season with

297-455: A Native American of the Sauk nation who was a prominent figure in the history of Illinois. McLaughlin named the new hockey team in honor of the military unit, making it one of many sports team names using Native Americans as icons. However, unlike the military division, the team's name was spelled in two words as "Black Hawks" until 1986, when the club officially became the "Blackhawks", based on

396-626: A career season with 30 goals and 55 assists) from Detroit. Hull, Mikita, Pilote, and Hall became preeminent stars of the team, and all four would eventually be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame . After two first-round exits at the hands of the eventual champions from Montreal in 1959 and 1960 , it was expected the Canadiens would once again defeat the Hawks when they met in the semifinals in 1961 . A defensive plan that completely wore down Montreal's superstars worked, however, as Chicago won

495-404: A curse on this team that will hoodoo it until the end of time." The Curse of Muldoon was born – although Coleman admitted years after the fact that he had fabricated the whole incident – and became one of the first widely known sports "curses." While the team would go on to win three Stanley Cups in its first 39 years of existence, it did so without ever having finished in first place, either in

594-476: A dire financial predicament where the team found itself unable to cover its own payroll obligations prior to the 2007–08 NHL season . He was forced to borrow money from other companies within the Wirtz Corporation to keep the franchise afloat. Almost immediately after becoming the new owner, Wirtz altered many of his father's policies, which many fans saw as anachronistic. According to a source within

693-496: A mid-season trade to acquire winger Michael Frolik from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jack Skille , Hugh Jessiman and David Pacan. Rocky Wirtz William Rockwell " Rocky " Wirtz (October 5, 1952 – July 25, 2023) was an American businessman. He was the principal owner and chairman of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League . He was also president of the Blackhawks' parent company,

792-498: A reason why the remaining 2007–08 home schedule could not air locally. Wirtz hired former Chicago Cubs team president John McDonough, to become the new president of the team. Many believed that McDonough's presence, along with the young talent on the roster, would improve the team's marketing ability and reverse a long drought in popularity. This became evident when the team ranked 1st in the NHL for attendance in 2008–09 while making it to

891-660: A record of 46–24–12, putting them in fourth place in the Western Conference with 104 points. The Blackhawks clinched a playoff berth for the first time since the 2001–02 season with a 3–1 win over the Nashville Predators on April 3. On April 8, with a shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets , the Blackhawks clinched their first 100-point season in 17 years. The Blackhawks defeated the fifth-seeded Calgary Flames in six games to advance to

990-746: A regular season record of 52–22–8. They defeated the Nashville Predators in six games in the first round before defeating the third-seeded Vancouver Canucks for the second straight year, again in six games. The Blackhawks then swept the top-seeded San Jose Sharks in the conference finals, advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1992 , where they played the Philadelphia Flyers. The Blackhawks prevailed in six games to secure their fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history, and their first since 1961 , ending

1089-495: A rule, paid almost no attention to the Black Hawks. Nearly every trade made between Detroit and Chicago ended up being Red Wing heists. As a result, for the next several years, the Black Hawks were the model of futility in the NHL. Between 1945 and 1958 , they only made the playoffs twice. In 1950, Norris' eldest son, James D. Norris , and Red Wings minority owner Arthur Wirtz (the senior Norris' original partner in buying

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1188-466: A single- or multi-division format. The Black Hawks proceeded to have the worst record in the league in 1927–28 , winning only seven of 44 games. For the 1928–29 season , the Black Hawks were originally slated to play in the newly built Chicago Stadium , but due to construction delays and a dispute between McLaughlin and arena promoter Paddy Harmon, they instead divided their time between the Coliseum,

1287-424: A team and lost in the third round in 1985 . In 1983, Arthur Wirtz died and the club came under the sole control of his son Bill Wirtz. Although the Black Hawks continued to make the playoffs each season, the club began a slow decline, punctuated with an appearance in the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals . During the 1985 playoff series against Edmonton, the Black Hawks and their fans started a tradition of cheering during

1386-567: The 1927 first-round playoff series to the Boston Bruins. Following the series, McLaughlin fired head coach Pete Muldoon . According to Jim Coleman , sportswriter for the Toronto -based Globe and Mail , McLaughlin felt that the Hawks were good enough to finish first. Muldoon disagreed, and in a fit of pique, McLaughlin fired him. According to Coleman, Muldoon responded by yelling, "Fire me, Major, and you'll never finish first. I'll put

1485-414: The 2007–08 season , the franchise experimented with a partnership with Comcast SportsNet Chicago and WGN-TV by airing selected Blackhawks home games on television. During the next season, Comcast and WGN began airing all of the team's regular season games. Rocky also named John McDonough , former president of Major League Baseball 's Chicago Cubs , as the Blackhawks' new president. After taking over

1584-594: The 2009 Winter Classic on a temporary ice rink at the Chicago Cubs' home park Wrigley Field on New Year's Day against fellow " Original Six " members, the Detroit Red Wings; the Red Wings defeated Chicago 6–4. On June 16, Pat Foley returned as the Blackhawks' TV play-by-play man, replacing Dan Kelly ; Foley called Blackhawks games from 1981 to 2006, and spent the next two years broadcasting for

1683-601: The 2012–13 NHL lockout -shortened season. This also marked the first time since 1979 for an all Original Six Cup Final. Shortly after this championship, Wirtz and John McDonough, president and CEO of the Blackhawks, took out a full-page ad in the Boston Globe thanking the city of Boston for respect and sportsmanship during the Cup Finals and praising their recovery from the Boston Marathon bombing . In

1782-589: The 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs , the Blackhawks eliminated the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, and Anaheim Ducks to reach the Finals. There, they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games, giving the Blackhawks a third championship in six seasons. It also allowed them to win the Cup on home ice for the first time since 1938. Prior to the 2021–22 NHL season , former prospect Kyle Beach alleged he

1881-786: The Detroit Olympia , and the Peace Bridge Arena in Fort Erie, Ontario , before moving to Chicago Stadium the following season. By 1931 , with goal-scorer Johnny Gottselig , Cy Wentworth on defense , and Charlie Gardiner in goal , the Hawks reached their first Stanley Cup Finals, but fizzled in the final two games against the Montreal Canadiens . They had another stellar season in 1932 , but that did not translate into playoff success. However, two years later, Gardiner led his team to victory by shutting out

1980-761: The Hawks ) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago . The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and have won six Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926. They are one of the " Original Six " NHL teams, along with the Detroit Red Wings , Montreal Canadiens , Toronto Maple Leafs , Boston Bruins , and New York Rangers . Since 1995 ,

2079-546: The Minnesota North Stars and St. Louis Blues in the playoffs before losing to another surprise team, the Vancouver Canucks, who made the Stanley Cup Finals . Chicago proved they were no fluke the next season, also making the third round before losing to the eventual runner-up Edmonton Oilers . After an off-year in 1984 , the Hawks again faced a now fresh-off-a-ring Edmonton offensive juggernaut of

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2178-567: The Toronto Maple Leafs . Black Hawks goaltender Mike Karakas was injured and could not play, forcing a desperate Chicago team to pull minor-leaguer Alfie Moore out of a Toronto bar and onto the ice. Moore played one game and won it. Toronto refused to let Moore play the next, so Chicago used Paul Goodman in Game 2 and lost. However, for the third and fourth games, Karakas was fitted with a special skate to protect his injured toe, and

2277-513: The Western Hockey League for $ 100,000 from WHL president Frank Patrick in a deal brokered by Boston Bruins ' owner Charles Adams . However, only a month later, Hardwick's group sold out to Chicago coffee tycoon Frederic McLaughlin . McLaughlin had been a commander with the 333rd Machine Gun Battalion of the 86th Infantry Division during World War I . This division was nicknamed the "Blackhawk Division" after Black Hawk ,

2376-571: The Wirtz Corporation , a diversified conglomerate headquartered in Chicago . Under Wirtz's leadership, the Chicago Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups between 2010 and 2015, reversing a period of declining fan interest and on-ice performance. He oversaw Wirtz Corporation's commercial and residential real estate companies, wine and spirits distributor Breakthru Beverage Group, an insurance company, and banks in Illinois and Florida . Wirtz

2475-516: The 2008–09 season and replaced by Joel Quenneville . ) On October 22, 2007, Wirtz announced the team negotiated with Comcast SportsNet Chicago (now known as NBC Sports Chicago , of which he was part-owner) to televise home games. This was another break from his father's management style, where games were previously unavailable on television unless they were nationally televised. That season, they began to show seven home games, with Wirtz citing pre-existing agreements Comcast had with other programming as

2574-530: The 40,818 fans from the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Therefore, the total attendance for games hosted at the United Center is 871,337, good for an average of 21,783, which still led the NHL over Montreal's 21,273 average. The Blackhawks welcomed their one millionth fan of the season at the United Center before Game 6 of the conference semifinals on May 11, 2009. Prior to the 2009–10 season ,

2673-448: The AHL's Chicago Wolves. Foley was partnered with Ed Olczyk to broadcast all of the Blackhawks' games. On October 16, 2008, the Blackhawks relieved Denis Savard of his head coaching duties and replaced him with Joel Quenneville. Savard has since been brought back to the organization as an ambassador. The Blackhawks finished the 2008–09 regular season in second place in their division with

2772-463: The Black Hawks finished first, breaking the supposed "Curse of Muldoon", 23 years after the death of Frederic McLaughlin. However, they lost in the semifinals to Toronto, who went on to win their last Stanley Cup of the era. Afterward, Coleman, who first printed the story of the curse in 1943, admitted that he made the story up to break a writer's block he had as a column deadline approached. Before his death in 1966, one of James D. Norris' last moves in

2871-424: The Blackhawks again finished well out of the playoffs with a 26–43–13 record, next-to-last in the Western Conference and second-worst in the NHL. The Blackhawks reached another low point on May 16, 2006, when they announced that popular TV/radio play-by-play announcer Pat Foley would not be brought back after 25 years with the team, a move unpopular amongst most fans; Foley then became the television/radio voice for

2970-520: The Blackhawks made another major free agent purchase, signing Marian Hossa to a 12-year, US$ 62.8 million contract. The team also acquired Tomas Kopecky , John Madden and Richard Petiot . In early July, general manager Dale Tallon and the Blackhawks management came under fire when the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) claimed that the team did not submit offers to their restricted free agents before

3069-610: The Blackhawks made several major roster changes before the season, trading Tuomo Ruutu , their longest-tenured player, to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Andrew Ladd on February 26, 2008. Later that day, the Blackhawks traded captain Martin Lapointe to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft . On July 1, the first day of free agency,

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3168-466: The Blackhawks the talented first-line caliber game breaker they desperately needed. The Havlat trade was soon followed by another major trade: winger and key Blackhawk player Kyle Calder was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for grinding defensive center Michal Handzus . The move caused a stir in Chicago, as Calder had won an increase in his contract through arbitration, which was accepted by

3267-595: The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup three times, in 2010 , 2013 and 2015 . Rocky died in July 2023, and his son, Danny Wirtz , was named chairman of the Blackhawks. On May 1, 1926, the NHL awarded an expansion franchise for Chicago to a syndicate headed by former football star Huntington Hardwick of Boston . At the same meeting, Hardwick arranged the purchase of the players of the Portland Rosebuds of

3366-535: The Bruins to the top of the NHL for several years and capture two Stanley Cups. In Boston, Esposito set numerous scoring records en route to a career as one of the NHL's all-time greats. Nonetheless, in the 1970–71 season , life was made easier for the Black Hawks, as in an attempt to better balance the divisions, the expansion Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks were both placed in the East Division while

3465-572: The Central Division with 79 points, but would finish ninth in the Western Conference, which would make them miss the playoffs by 13 points. A somber note was struck in February 2004, when ESPN named the Blackhawks the worst franchise in professional sports. Indeed, the Blackhawks were viewed with much indifference by Chicagoans for much of the 1990s and early 2000s due to anger over several policies instituted by then-owner Bill Wirtz, who

3564-656: The Chicago Wolves. With the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft , the team selected Jonathan Toews , who led the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey team to the 2006 NCAA Frozen Four . The Blackhawks were eager to make a splash in the free-agent market, and offered big money to many of the top free agents. However, they were denied, only being able to acquire two backup goaltenders in Patrick Lalime and Sebastien Caron . Chicago

3663-410: The Detroit Red Wings in the final game of the Stanley Cup Finals ; Mush March scored the winning goal in double-overtime as the Hawks beat Detroit 1–0. In 1938 , the Black Hawks had a record of 14–25–9, almost missing the playoffs. They stunned the Canadiens and New York Americans on overtime goals in the deciding games of both semi-final series, advancing to the 1938 Stanley Cup Finals against

3762-611: The Finals after 19 years out of such status, winning 11 consecutive playoff games that year, setting an NHL record in the process. However, they were swept four games to none by the Mario Lemieux -led defending Stanley Cup champion, the Pittsburgh Penguins . In sweeping the Blackhawks, the Penguins tied the record Chicago had set only days before. Although the 4–0 sweep indicated Pittsburgh's dominance in games won,

3861-461: The First or Second All-Star goaltender eight out of nine seasons. Hull and Mikita especially were widely regarded as the most feared one-two punch in the league. However, despite a strong supporting cast which included Bill Hay , Ken Wharram , Phil Esposito , Moose Vasko , Doug Mohns , and Pat Stapleton , the Hawks never quite put it all together. In 1966–67 , the last season of the six-team NHL,

3960-658: The Hawks moved into the West Division . The Hawks became the class of the West overnight, rampaging to a 46–17–15 record and an easy first-place finish. With second-year goalie Tony Esposito (Phil's younger brother and winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year the previous season), Hull, his younger brother Dennis , Mikita, and sterling defensemen Stapleton, Keith Magnuson and Bill White ,

4059-487: The Hawks organization, Wirtz "believes in spending money to make money," in marked contrast to his father's frugal management style. Wirtz stated in an interview that he would keep Dale Tallon as Blackhawks general manager and Denis Savard as head coach . He also affirmed at the time that Bob Pulford would remain as the team's senior vice president, but later reassigned him to Blackhawks liaison on NHL affairs. (Savard would be fired as head coach just four games into

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4158-609: The Hawks reached the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Canadiens. A critical blow to the franchise came in 1972–73 with the start of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Long dissatisfied with how little he was paid as the NHL's marquee star, Hull jumped to the upstart Winnipeg Jets for a million-dollar contract. Former Philadelphia Flyers star Andre Lacroix joined him, having received very little ice time during his single season with Chicago, and

4257-413: The Hawks, but rather than ink their leading scorer, the team decided to address their need for a proven center by acquiring Handzus. Injuries to both Havlat and Handzus hurt the Blackhawks, and Smolinski was eventually traded at the trade deadline to the Vancouver Canucks. On November 26, 2006, Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon fired head coach Trent Yawney and appointed assistant coach Denis Savard as

4356-453: The NHL was to arrange an expansion franchise in St. Louis , where he owned the St. Louis Arena . Tobin died in 1963, a vice president of the team until his death. Ownership now passed to Norris' longtime partner Arthur Wirtz and his son Bill Wirtz . The Wirtz–Norris partnership dated over three decades; Arthur Wirtz had been a minority partner in the syndicate the senior Norris put together to buy

4455-471: The Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in 54 years in 1994 . Belfour posted a 40-win season in 1992–93 as the Hawks looked to go deep yet again, and Chris Chelios accumulated career-high penalty time with 282 minutes in the box, but St. Louis stunned Chicago with a first-round sweep to continue Chicago's playoff losing streak. Although they finished near .500 in 1994 , the Blackhawks again qualified for

4554-501: The Red Wings 23 years earlier) took over the floundering club. They guided it through financial reversals, and rebuilt the team from there. One of their first moves was to hire former Detroit coach and general manager Tommy Ivan as general manager. In the late 1950s, the Hawks struck gold, acquiring three young prospects (forwards Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita and defenseman Pierre Pilote ), and obtaining both star goaltender Glenn Hall and veteran forward Ted Lindsay (who had just had

4653-472: The Red Wings in 1932. Goaltender Glenn Hall was drafted by the St. Louis Blues expansion team for the 1967–68 season , while Pierre Pilote was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Jim Pappin in 1968 . In the 1968–69 season, despite Bobby Hull breaking his own previous record of 54 goals in a season with 58, the Black Hawks missed the playoffs for the first time since 1958, and

4752-470: The San Jose Sharks. The Blackhawks signed former Dallas Stars starting goalie Marty Turco as his replacement, but eventually turned to rookie Corey Crawford to become their full-time starting goaltender. The Blackhawks also acquired Viktor Stalberg from the Toronto Maple Leafs and signed rookies Nick Leddy and Marcus Kruger to three-year entry-level contracts. The Blackhawks also made

4851-478: The St. Louis Blues in five games after winning Game 1 of the series), the Blackhawks were consistently out of the playoffs from the 1997–98 season until the 2008–09 season , in most years finishing well out of contention, despite finishing in third place in the Central Division six times. Amonte left for the Phoenix Coyotes in the summer of 2002. During the 2002–03 season , the Blackhawks finished third in

4950-584: The Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the eventual champions, the Calgary Flames . The following season, the Hawks did prove they were late-round playoff material, running away with the Norris Division title, but, yet again, the third round continued to stymie them, this time against the eventual champion Oilers, despite 1970s Soviet star goaltender Vladislav Tretiak coming to Chicago to become the Blackhawks' goaltender coach. In 1990–91 , Chicago

5049-461: The U.S. and Canada. At the time of his death, Wirtz served as co-chairman of Breakthru Beverage Group. His son Danny Wirtz plays a large role in the Breakthru's executive leadership as Vice Chairman, also serving on the company's Board of Directors and Operating Committee. Rocky Wirtz inherited the Blackhawks upon the death of his father, William "Dollar Bill" Bill Wirtz , in 2007, becoming only

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5148-558: The Western Conference Final. In the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs , the Blackhawks defeated the Nashville Predators , Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks to advance to their first Stanley Cup Finals since 1992 . They faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals and won the Stanley Cup in six games on June 9, 2010. This was the first Stanley Cup for the Blackhawks since 1961, thus ending

5247-582: The Western Conference Finals. The team also hosted the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field that season. Former star players Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita , who were not on good terms with the elder Wirtz, returned to the team in the role of "ambassadors". A big step showing this reconciliation was when the Blackhawks celebrated Hull and Mikita together at the United Center on March 7, 2008. While most of Wirtz's changes had positive results, one decision that

5346-418: The conference finals, losing to the rival Detroit Red Wings. Also in 1994, management fired Wayne Messmer , popular singer of "The Star-Spangled Banner". Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour and Chris Chelios were all traded away as the Blackhawks faltered through the late 1990s, until they missed the playoffs by five points in 1998 for the first time in 29 years, one season short of tying the Boston Bruins' record for

5445-523: The conference semifinals for the first time since 1996. The team proceeded to defeat the third-seeded Vancouver Canucks in six games, and then played the then-Stanley Cup champion, the Detroit Red Wings, for the Western Conference Championship, losing the series in five games. During the 2008–09 season, the team led the NHL in home attendance, with a total of 912,155 spectators, averaging 22,247 per game. This figure includes

5544-457: The deadline. In the worst-case scenario, the team's unsigned restricted free agents at the time, including Calder Memorial Trophy finalist Kris Versteeg , would have become unrestricted free agents. Despite the ordeal, the Blackhawks were able to sign Versteeg and all of their restricted free agents before the NHLPA could take further action. On July 14, 2009, the Blackhawks demoted Dale Tallon to

5643-420: The decade in all—but were never a successful Stanley Cup contender, losing 16-straight playoff games at one point. The team acquired legendary blueliner Bobby Orr from the Boston Bruins in 1976, but ill health forced him to sit out for most of the season, and he eventually retired in 1979, having played only 26 games for the Hawks. Stan Mikita did the same the following year after playing for Chicago for 22 years,

5742-589: The dominant Canadiens in four games. After McLaughlin died in December 1944, his estate sold the team to a syndicate headed by longtime team president Bill Tobin . However, Tobin was only a puppet for James E. Norris , who owned the rival Red Wings. Norris had also been the Black Hawks' landlord since his 1936 purchase of the Chicago Stadium. For the next eight years, the Norris-Tobin ownership, as

5841-547: The draft. The team had never had a draft pick higher than third overall before, and used the pick to draft right wing Patrick Kane from the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). On September 26, 2007, longtime Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz died after a brief battle with cancer. He was succeeded by his son Rocky , who drastically altered his father's long-standing policies. Midway into

5940-520: The exclusive Canadian distributor for Diageo beer, wine and spirits brands. The company was the first nationally established beverage alcohol broker in Canada. In 2015, Wirtz merged the $ 2.5 billion alcohol-distribution business with Charmer Sunbelt Group to create Breakthru Beverage Group. Today, Breakthru is one of North America's leading distributors of wine, spirits and beer brands with more than $ 6 billion in annual revenue and operations throughout

6039-463: The family's first liquor distributorship in 1945. Wirtz grew up in the liquor business and assumed control of Wirtz Beverage Group in 2007. In recognition of his many contributions to and leadership in the beverage industry, the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America honored Wirtz with a Lifetime Leadership Award in 2014. In 2014, Wirtz Beverage expanded outside the U.S. announcing it was taking over as

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6138-492: The fifth principal owner in the franchise's 81-year history. His grandfather, Arthur Wirtz , bought a stake in the Blackhawks in 1950, acquiring outright ownership in 1966 and selling a stake to Bill, who inherited full ownership upon Arthur's death in 1983. Rocky's younger brother, Peter, initially inherited the team following Bill's death in 2007. Peter previously served as at Blackhawks vice president. He intended to uphold many of his father's long-standing policies. However, Peter

6237-531: The goaltender he would later become) could not secure a win in Game 4, which ended in a 6–5 final in favor of Pittsburgh. The defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls were in their finals in 1992 , but won their championship in six. This was the only year the city of Chicago would host the NBA and NHL finals concurrently in the same year; Blackhawks head coach Mike Keenan would see this again in New York, when he coached

6336-413: The head coach. Savard had been the assistant coach of the team since 1997, a year after he retired as one of the most popular and successful Blackhawks players of all time. The Blackhawks continued to struggle, and finished last in the Central Division, 12 points out of the playoffs. They finished with the fourth-worst record in the NHL, and in the draft lottery, won the opportunity to select first overall in

6435-435: The individual games were contested closely. Game 1 saw the Blackhawks squander leads of 3–0 and 4–1, and would eventually be beaten 5–4 after a Lemieux power-play goal with nine seconds remaining in regulation. The Blackhawks' most lackluster match was game two, losing 3–1. A frustrating loss of 1–0 followed in game three, and a natural hat trick from Dirk Graham and stellar play from Dominik Hasek (who showed indications of

6534-473: The last eight), the team enjoyed a resurgence in 2009. Having built the team around a core of Patrick Kane , Patrick Sharp , Jonathan Toews , Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook , the Blackhawks recorded their first 100-point season in 16 years. They defeated the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks in the first two rounds before bowing out to the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings in

6633-424: The last time before 1997–98 . In 1967 , the Black Hawks made a trade with the Boston Bruins that turned out to be one of the most one-sided in the history of the sport. Chicago sent young forwards Phil Esposito , Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield to Boston in exchange for Pit Martin , Jack Norris and Gilles Marotte . While Martin would star for the Hawks for many seasons, Esposito, Hodge and Stanfield would lead

6732-404: The late 1980s, Chicago still made the playoffs on an annual basis but made early-round exits each time. In 1988–89 , after three-straight first-round defeats and despite a fourth-place finish in their division in the regular season, Chicago made it to the conference finals in the rookie seasons of both goaltender Ed Belfour and center Jeremy Roenick . However, they would once again fail to make

6831-515: The longest such streak in North American professional sport history. Chicago would also miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season in 1999 , and missed the playoffs again in 2000 and 2001 . The new millennium started with disappointment for the Blackhawks. Éric Daze , Alexei Zhamnov and Tony Amonte emerged as some of the team's leading stars by this time. However, aside from a quick first-round exit in 2002 (where they lost to

6930-499: The marketing slogan, "We Play Hockey the Old-Fashioned Way: We Actually Win." Following the lockout of the 2004–05 season , new general manager Dale Tallon set about restructuring the team in the hopes of making a playoff run. Tallon made several moves in the summer of 2005, most notably the signing of the Tampa Bay Lightning 's Stanley Cup -winning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin and All-Star defenseman Adrian Aucoin . However, injuries plagued Khabibulin and Aucoin among others, and

7029-411: The owner of the Blackhawks. The younger Norris took an active interest in the team, which won another Stanley Cup title under his ownership in 1961 . After James D. Norris died in 1966, the Wirtz family became owners of the franchise. In 2007, the team came under the control of Rocky Wirtz , who is credited with turning around the organization, which had lost fan interest and competitiveness; under Wirtz,

7128-542: The pair became two of the WHA's great stars. However, the Black Hawks repeated their appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals that year, again losing to Montreal. Stapleton also left for the WHA after that year, depleting the team further. While the team led or was second in the West Division for four straight seasons, for the rest of the 1970s, the Black Hawks made the playoffs each year—winning seven division championships in

7227-470: The playoffs by three points. The 2007–08 season marked the first time in six years that the team finished above .500. Prior to the 2008–09 season opener, the Blackhawks named 20-year-old Toews as the new captain, succeeding Adrian Aucoin (who was traded to the Calgary Flames, after the 2006–07 season) and making him the third-youngest captain at the time of appointment. In addition to a new captain,

7326-519: The playoffs. They were eliminated by eventual Western Conference finalist Toronto, but broke their playoff losing streak at 10 games with a game three win. It was not enough, however, and the Blackhawks fell in six games. The 1993–94 season was also the Blackhawks' last at the Chicago Stadium, as the team moved into the newly built United Center across the street for the lockout -shortened 1994–95 season . Bernie Nicholls and Joe Murphy both scored 20 goals over 48 games, and Chicago once again made it to

7425-612: The position of senior adviser. Stan Bowman , son of Scotty Bowman, was promoted to general manager. The Blackhawks continued to sell-out games, with the best average attendance of 21,356 over the Montreal Canadiens' 21,273 in the NHL, and had a total of 854,267, excluding the playoffs. The Blackhawks reached the one million mark in Game 3 of the conference finals against the San Jose Sharks. The Blackhawks re-signed Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to contract extensions worth $ 31.5 million over five years, and Duncan Keith to

7524-401: The position, McDonough was an instrumental figure in the Blackhawks' current marketing success. Wirtz was also able to bring back former Blackhawks greats Tony Esposito, Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull as the franchise's "hockey ambassadors". In addition to the changes in the team's policies and front office, the younger Wirtz also made a concerted effort to rebuild the team. The Blackhawks roster

7623-536: The second longest Stanley Cup drought in the history of the NHL. In the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs , the Blackhawks eliminated the Minnesota Wild , Detroit Red Wings, and 2012 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings to reach the Finals. There they defeated the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins in six games, giving the Blackhawks a second championship in four seasons. This marked the first game between Western and Eastern Conference teams all season due to

7722-549: The second player of African descent, after Willie O'Ree , to play on a professional major league ice-hockey team, played for the club over three seasons from 1966 to 1969. He tallied 96 goals and 130 assists for 226 points in 204 games played for the club. He would go on to play 145 games in the WHA for the New York Raiders , Los Angeles Sharks , and Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades . The Columbus Checkers became defunct in

7821-557: The series in six games. They then bested the Wings to win their third Stanley Cup championship. The Hawks made the Cup Finals twice more in the 1960s, losing to the Leafs in 1962 and the Canadiens in 1965 . They remained a force to be reckoned with throughout the decade, with Hull enjoying four 50-goal seasons, Mikita winning back-to-back scoring titles and MVP accolades, Pilote winning three consecutive Norris Trophies , and Hall being named

7920-485: The singing of " The Star-Spangled Banner ". Prior to the 1986–87 season , while going through the team's records, someone discovered the team's original NHL contract and found that the team's name was printed as a compound word ("Blackhawks") as opposed to two separate words ("Black Hawks"), which was the way most sources had been printing it for 60 years and as the team had always officially listed it. The name officially became "Chicago Blackhawks" from that point on. In

8019-619: The spelling found in the original franchise documents. The Black Hawks began play in the 1926–27 season , along with its fellow expansion franchises, the Detroit Cougars (now the Detroit Red Wings) and New York Rangers . The team had to face immediate competition in Chicago from Eddie Livingstone 's rival, the Chicago Cardinals , who played in the same building. McLaughlin took a very active role in running

8118-628: The spring of 1970 due to low attendance. This article about a sports team in Ohio is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This American ice hockey team-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to sports in Columbus, Ohio is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Chicago Blackhawks This is an accepted version of this page The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as

8217-610: The team came under the ownership of the Norris family, who acted as their landlord as owners of the Chicago Stadium, and also owned stakes in several of the NHL teams. At first, the Norris ownership was as part of a syndicate fronted by longtime executive Bill Tobin , and the team languished in favor of the Norris-owned Detroit Red Wings. After the senior James E. Norris died in 1952, the Norris assets were spread among family members, and James D. Norris became

8316-474: The team despite having no background in the sport. He hired Bill Tobin , a former goaltender who had played in the Western League, as his assistant, but directed the team himself. He was also very interested in promoting American players, then very rare in professional hockey. Several of them, including Doc Romnes , Taffy Abel , Alex Levinsky , Mike Karakas , and Cully Dahlstrom , become staples with

8415-584: The team has played their home games at the United Center , which they share with the National Basketball Association 's Chicago Bulls ; both teams previously played at the now-demolished Chicago Stadium . The Blackhawks' original owner was Frederic McLaughlin , a "hands-on" owner who fired many coaches during his ownership and led the team to win two Stanley Cup titles in 1934 and 1938 . After McLaughlin's death in 1944,

8514-430: The team signed goaltender Cristobal Huet to a four-year, US$ 22.5 million contract, and later signed defenseman Brian Campbell to an eight-year, $ 56.8 million contract. They also added former coaches Joel Quenneville and Scotty Bowman to their organization. On February 13, 2008, the Blackhawks announced they would hold their first fan convention. On July 16, 2008, the team announced that they would host

8613-441: The team won both games. It was too late for Toronto, as the Hawks won their second championship. As of 2019 , the 1938 Black Hawks possess the poorest regular season record of any Stanley Cup champion. The Black Hawks next returned to the Finals in 1944 behind Doug Bentley 's 38 goals, with Bentley's linemate Clint Smith leading the team in assists. After upsetting the Red Wings in the semifinals, they were promptly dispatched by

8712-579: The team's 49-year championship drought . The Blackhawks immediately faced salary cap constraints prior to the 2010–11 season . The team was forced to trade several players who played an integral role to their 2009–10 Stanley Cup victory, including Dustin Byfuglien , Andrew Ladd, Kris Versteeg, Brent Sopel , Ben Eager and Colin Fraser . The team was also unable to agree to terms with starting goaltender Antti Niemi , who left as restricted free agent to

8811-559: The team, and under McLaughlin, the Black Hawks were the first NHL team with an all-American-born lineup. The Black Hawks played their first game on November 17, 1926, against the Toronto St. Patricks at the Chicago Coliseum . They won their first game 4–1, in front of a crowd of over 7,000. The Hawks' first season was a moderate success, as they finished the season in third place with a record of 19–22–3. However, they lost

8910-406: The third-longest career for a single team in league history. By 1982 , the Black Hawks squeaked into the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Norris Division (at the time the top four teams in each division automatically made the playoffs), and were one of the NHL's Cinderella teams that year. Led by second-year Denis Savard 's 32 goals and 119 points and Doug Wilson 's 39 goals, the Hawks stunned

9009-423: The time. The Blackhawks and Beach ultimately reached an out-of-court settlement. On February 2, 2022, Wirtz became agitated and responded harshly when asked about the incident during a town hall session with fans and reporters. He later apologized for his remarks. Wirtz and his wife Marilyn resided in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Wirtz had three children, including Danny , from a previous marriage, along with

9108-532: Was also half-owner of the Blackhawks' home arena, the United Center , along with Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf . He and Reinsdorf were co-chairmen of the arena's Executive Committee. Wirtz graduated from North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, Illinois in 1971. In 1975, he graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Communications. Wirtz's grandfather Arthur Wirtz bought

9207-500: Was bolstered by the addition of Patrick Kane, the first overall selection in the 2007 NHL entry draft , who led all rookies in points. Kane and Jonathan Toews were finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's best rookie. Kane ultimately beat his teammate for the award. Kane finished the 2007–08 season with 21 goals and 51 assists in 82 games. The Blackhawks finished with a record of 40–34–8, missing

9306-467: Was derisively known as "Dollar Bill". For example, Wirtz did not allow home games to be televised in the Chicago area, claiming it was unfair to the team's season ticket holders. He also raised ticket prices to an average of $ 50, making them among the most expensive in the NHL. The Chicago Wolves , an American Hockey League (AHL) team based in Rosemont, Illinois , mocked the Blackhawks' struggle by using

9405-438: Was met with skepticism was lessening the use of the United Center's organ in favor of more prerecorded current music to attract new, younger fans. This ended up being a blessing in disguise as the team's new goal song, " Chelsea Dagger ", became a song other teams loved to hate. The Blackhawks did not take long to turn around under the younger Wirtz's stewardship. After missing the playoffs for six straight seasons (and seven of

9504-766: Was one of the biggest buyers in the trade market, acquiring a future franchise player in left-winger Martin Havlat , as well as center Bryan Smolinski from the Ottawa Senators in a three-way trade that also involved the San Jose Sharks . The Hawks dealt forward Mark Bell to the Sharks, Michal Barinka and a 2008 second-round draft pick to the Senators, while Ottawa also received defenseman Tom Preissing and center Josh Hennessy from San Jose. Havlat gave

9603-581: Was poised to fare even better in the playoffs, winning the Presidents' Trophy for best regular season record, but the Minnesota North Stars stunned them in six games in the first round en route to an improbable Stanley Cup Finals appearance. In 1991–92 , the Blackhawks – with Roenick scoring 53 goals, Steve Larmer scoring 29 goals, Chris Chelios (acquired from Montreal two years earlier) on defense, and Belfour in goal – finally reached

9702-407: Was sexually assaulted by a member of the Blackhawks' coaching staff in 2010 . The Blackhawks conducted an internal investigation. Multiple executives and coaches on the team, including Stan Bowman , Joel Quenneville, and Al MacIsaac were aware of Beach's allegations in 2010, but failed to properly report the issue to the police. The report also states that Wirtz was not aware of the allegations at

9801-452: Was uninterested in owning the Blackhawks, and instead allowed Rocky to assume control of the team. The Blackhawks franchise faced both financial challenges and on-ice struggles. Over the decade preceding Wirtz's leadership, the team incurred losses approaching $ 191 million and managed to qualify for the playoffs only once during that span. This period saw ESPN dubbing the Blackhawks as the worst franchise in professional sports. Wirtz recalls

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