TOP 10 Greatest Chicago Blackhawks

Hey everyone,  I know it has been a couple of weeks since my last blog, the thing was I just could not think of what to write.  Since hockey is getting into the swing of things and the season is a couple of weeks old already, I thought why not a post about the TOP 10 Chicago Blackhawks of All-Time.  With the Hawks being an Original 6 franchise the list of greats and Hall of Famers is pretty long.  So in order to make this list your numbers and legacy better be good.  Over the past 80+ years the Hawks have been playing hockey they have had some great times and decades, at one time having the longest consecutive playoff run out of the 4 major sports at 24 consecutive years. They also had some pretty lean times especially recently (1998-2008 -only making the playoffs 1 time).  Throughout the Blackhawks history they still remain the only team to win the Stanley Cup with a losing record in 1938.  Looking back over their history in order to make this list, you had to be considered one of the best at your position at the time you played and be loved by the fans and sustained longevity.  So of the greats you will not see are: the Bentley brothers, Bill Mosienko (who still holds the NHL for the fastest Hat Trick ever recorded: 21 seconds), no Ed Belfour or Al Secord.  Even though I know when they retire Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook may all be on this list - there careers are just to short at the moment to compare to legends on The Top 10 Blackhawks of All Time

10. Steve Larmer: scored over 400 goals with the Blackhawks, never missed a game, made several all star games, Calder Trophy winner and had the nickname of "Gramps"
9. Doug Wilson: Won the Norris Trophy in 1982, feared slapshot from the Blueline ( I actually saw a wilson Slapshot knock off the cage of a goalie mask in a game) for over a decade considered one of the Elite defenseman in the game
8. Jeremy Roenick: good ol' JR, played with emotion and passion: multiple time All-Star, 2x 50 goal Scorer, one of the Top 5 centerman when he played
7. Chris Chelios; Chicago native, won 3 Norris Trophies (2 w/ Chicago), played with a nasty edge
6. Pierre Pilot: Won 3 straight Norris trophies with the Hawks in the 60's, is considered the greatest blueliner in Chicago Blackhawk history had his number retired to the rafters
5. Tony Esposito: Tony 'O #35, Hall of Famer,  Was part of the Trioka in the 70's as best goalie in the world (Ken Dryden of Montreal, and Vlad Tretiak of Russia) Still holds modern day single season shut out record with 15, won over 400 games in his career and has his number retired by the Hawks
4. Denis Savard: "Savior Fair": Hockey Hall of Famer, multiple All-Star, Stanley cup winner ('93 in Montreal), over 1,300 career points, including 5 100 point seasons, during the 80's was considered the 3rd best centerman behind Gretzky and Lemieux
3. Glenn Hall: Mr Goalie, Still holds the NHL record for most consecutive games played by a goalie with  501 a record that will never be broken: Hall of Famer, helped Chicago win the 1961 Cup (the last one before 2010). Is considered the greatest blackhawk goalie ever
2. Stan Mikita: #21: played his entire career in a Hawks uniform, Hall of Famer, one of the Top 25 players in NHL History according to the Hockey News, Multiple All -Star: winner of the Hart and Art Ross Trophies on multiple occassions. Holds the Blackhawks record for most career points

And the Greatest Chicago Blackhawk of All-Time is:

Bobby Hull!!!!! "The Golden Jet" is one of the most Iconic athletes of the last 50 years.  The greatest athlete of the 60's, his powerful slapshot and speed put fear in all players especially goalies.  Hall of Famer with 610 NHL goals multiple winner of the Hart and Art Ross Trophies.  The #6 greatest Hockey player of All-Time according to the Hockey News.

Well there you have it, the Greatest Chicago Blackhawks of All-Time.  If you can think of a better list let me know.  As I had so much fun making this list for the Hawks, I will continue this format for all of the Original 6 teams in the upcoming weeks.

Till next time.

The Polish Guy

2011 NHL Predictions

It is the first week of October, my favorite time of year.  College and Pro Football are in full swing, the weather is getting cooler this can mean only one thing.  The NHL Season is about to begin.  I can smell the fresh sheet of ice, hear the Zamboni running, the boards cracking with hits, the horn sounding for each goal. It really does not get any better then this.

This was a pretty crazy summer. Richards goes to the Rangers, the Flyers overhaul most of their scoring depth, McPhee of the Capitals gets the steal of the summer with Tomas Vokoun for a million.  The Hawks go for depth and character to rebuild what they lost from last seasons salary dump.  There is so much excitement for this upcoming season: Will the Canucks recover after losing the Stanley Cup at home in game 7, will another Original 6 team win the cup following Chicago and Boston.  Will a Canadian team win the cup for the first time since the '93 Canadians. Can Toronto break the current longest Cup drought as they have not won since 1967.  I can go on and on as there is so much to talk about.  With the games about to start on Thursday, I will give my division winners, playoff teams, conference winners, Stanley Cup winners and major award winners.  So let the fun begin!!!!

Division Winners:
Atlantic: Pittsburgh
Northeast: Buffalo
Southeast: Washington
Central: Detroit
Northwest: Vancouver
Pacific: San Jose

Playoff Teams: No Order
East: Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Washington, Boston, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, NY Rangers, NY Islanders
West: Detroit, Chicago, Vancouver, San Jose, Anaheim, Nashville, Los Angeles, St. Louis

Conference Champs:
East: Buffalo
West: Chicago

Stanley Cup Champ: Chicago in Seven Games.

The east will be much tougher then the west this year as they are a much more balanced conference then the west which is very top heavy.  Vancouver is tough, but Louongo can not win the playoffs, Detroit will miss Rafalski and goaltending can be iffy, Boston is good, but the loss of Recchi's veteran leadership and Tim Thomas will come back to earth a little bit.  Philly will be tough, but in the end the lack of leadership losing Richards and Carter this year will be too much to overcome.  Tampa has the scoring and a rising Norris winner in Victor Hedman, but the aging Dwayne Roloson will not be able to sustain his greatness from last season.  Buffalo has the goods in Ryan Miller, they added a lot of defensive help and their offense will be stronger than people think.  The Hawks loaded up with character and depth, their core is among the best in Hockey, they have been through the Stanley Cup grind and are hungry to win it again.

End of Season Award Winners:
Hart: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit
Art Ross: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh
Rocket Richard: Steven Stamkos, Tampa
Selke: Jonathan Toews, Chicago
Norris: Shea Webber, Nashville
Vezina: Ryan Miller, Buffalo
Jack Adams: Barry Trotz, Nashville
Ted Lidsey (MVP Voted by NHLPA): Alexander Ovechkin
Lady Byng: Martin St. Louis, Tampa
Calder: Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado

There you have it. My predictions for the year.  Let the season begin

Till next time.

the Polish Guy