Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team's name was spelled Black Hawks before the 1986 NHL season.

Facts

Founded: 1926

Home arena: United Center

Former Home Arenas: Chicago Coliseum (1926-1928); Chicago Stadium (1929-1994)

Uniform colors: Red and black

Logo design: Indian's head in profile.

Mascot: Tommy the Hawk

Main Rivals: St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings

Stanley Cup Champions: 3 — 1933-34, 1937-38, 1960-61

Runner-up: 7 — 1930-31, 1943-44, 1961-62, 1964-65, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1991-92

League Champions (and Presidents' Trophy winner after 1985-86): 3 — 1966-67, 1969-70, 1990-91

Conference Champions (since 1974-75): 1 — 1991-92

Division Champions (between 1926-27-1937-38 and since 1967-68): 13

East Division: 1 — 1969-70

West Division: 3 — 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73

Smythe Division: 4 — 1975-76, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80

Norris Division: 5 — 1982-83, 1985-86, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1992-93

One of the NHL's Original Six franchises, along with the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Franchise history

Beginnings

The Chicago Black Hawks joined the NHL in 1926 as part of the league's successful foray into United States-based teams. Most of the Hawks' original players came from the Portland Rosebuds of the Western Hockey League, which had folded the previous season, and the players which were bought out by the Hawks' owner, Frederic McLaughlin.

The name of the team refers to Chief Black Hawk, a prominent figure in the history of Illinois, and is one of many sports team names using Native Americans as icons. For many years the name was spelled primarily "Black Hawks", but sometimes "Blackhawks", even by the club itself. This ambiguity was finally settled in the summer of 1986 when the club officially decided on the one-word spelling based on finding the original franchise documents had that spelling.

The Hawks' first season was a moderate success, with the forward line of Mickey MacKay, Babe Dye, and Dick Irvin each finishing near the top of the league's scoring race. The Hawks lost their 1927 first-round playoff series to the Boston Bruins. Following this series, McLaughlin fired head coach Pete Muldoon. According to Jim Coleman, a sportswriter for the Toronto Globe and Mail, Muldoon declared that because of McLaughlin's treachery, "The Black Hawks will never finish first!" At the time, finishing in first place was considered to be as much of an achievement as winning the Stanley Cup. The Curse of Muldoon was born, and became one of the first widely-known sports "curses." While the team would win three Stanley Cups, they would do so without having finished in first place either in a multi-division or a single-league format.

The Hawks proceeded to have the worst record in the league in 1927-28. By 1931 the Hawks reached their first Stanley Cup finals with goal-scorer Johnny Gottselig, Cy Wentworth on defense and Charlie Gardiner in goal, but fizzled in the final two games against the Montreal Canadiens. Chicago had another stellar season in 1932, but that did not translate into playoff success.

The Black Hawks won their first Stanley Cup in 1934 (over the Detroit Red Wings) with Charlie Gardiner's 1.73 goals-against average and Paul Thompson's 20 goals. Sadly, Gardiner died of a tonsil infection two months after the season ended.

After Chicago floundered over the next three years, they were thought to be a laughingstock in 1938 and only barely made the playoffs. They stunned the Montreal Canadiens and New York Americans on overtime goals in the deciding games of both series, advancing to the Stanley Cup finals against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Black Hawks goalie Mike Karakas was injured and couldn't play in the finals. A desperate team pulled minor-leaguer Alfie Moore out of a Toronto bar and onto the ice. In the two games Moore played, he only allowed two goals before Karakas was healthy enough to play again. It was too late for Toronto, as the Hawks won their second championship. The 1938 Black Hawks Cup champions remain the team with the poorest regular season record ever to win the Stanley Cup.

The Original Six era

The Black Hawks got back to the finals in 1944 behind Doug Bentley and Bill Mosienko's 30-goal seasons and their linemate Clint Smith leading the league in assists. After upsetting the Detroit Red Wings in the semi-finals, they were promptly dispatched by the juggernaut Montreal Canadiens in four games. Mosienko still holds the record for quickest hat trick (in 21 seconds) in the NHL.

Owner Frederic McLaughlin died in 1944, leaving the Hawks with virtually no leadership. By the 1950s the team was close to bankruptcy.

For the next several years, Chicago was the model of futility in the NHL. Between 1945 and 1958, they only made the playoffs twice.

Arthur Wirtz and James D. Norris took control of the financially strapped team in the early 1950's, guided it through financial reverses and rebuilt the team from there. One of their first moves was to hire Tommy Ivan as general manager.

In the late 1950s, the Hawks struck gold, picking up young stars Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and defenseman Pierre Pilote, as well as obtaining star goaltender Glenn Hall from Detroit. All four would become great stars, and eventually make 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 that the Canadiens would once again beat the Hawks when they met in the semifinals in 1961. A defensive plan that completely wore down Montreal's superstars did the trick though, as Chicago won the series in six games. They then bested the Detroit Red Wings to win their third and most recent Stanley Cup championship. Hull's grand success that appeared invincible in his prime, earned him a well-deserved place, 25 years after he retired, in Hockey Superstars: All-Time Greats! by former sportscaster Paul Romanuk.

The Hawks made the finals twice more in the 1960s, losing both times: to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1962 and Montreal Canadiens in 1965. Chicago remained a force to be reckoned with throughout the decade, with Bobby Hull's four 50-goal seasons in the decade, Mikita winning back-to-back scoring titles and MVP accolades, Pilote winning three consecutive Norris Trophies, and Hall being named the First or Second All-Star goaltender eight out of nine straight seasons.

In 1967, the last season of the six-team NHL, the Hawks finished first, breaking the supposed Curse of Muldoon, 23 years after the death of Frederic McLaughlin. However, they lost the Stanley Cup Semifinals to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who went on to win the Stanley Cup called "a bunch of has-beans". Afterward, sportswriter Jim 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.

The expansion era

Hall left for the expansion St. Louis Blues in 1967, and by 1969 the Black Hawks missed the playoffs for the first time since 1958 — and the last time before 1998.

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 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 years, Esposito, Hodge, and Stanfield would lead the Bruins to the top of the league for several years and capture two Stanley Cups. As a Bruin, Phil Esposito set numerous scoring records and wound up as one of the NHL's all-time greats elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Nonetheless, in 1971, life was made easier for Chicago, as in an attempt to better balance the divisions, the expansion Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks were both placed in the East Division, while the Hawks moved into the West Division. They became the class of the division 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 Pat Stapleton and Bill White, the Hawks reached the Stanley Cup Finals before bowing out to the Canadiens.

A critical blow to the franchise came in 1972, though, with the start of the World Hockey Association. Long dissatisfied with how little he was paid as the league's marquee star, Bobby Hull jumped to the upstart Winnipeg Jets for a million dollar contract. Former Philadelphia Flyers star Andre Lacroix, who received very little ice time in his single season in Chicago, also jumped, and the pair became two of the WHA's great stars. The Hawks repeated their appearance in Cup finals that year, however, again losing to Montreal. Stapleton left for the WHA as well 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 but were never a successful Stanley Cup contender, losing 16 straight playoff games at one point. The team acquired 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. Stan Mikita did the same the following year after playing 22 years in Chicago, the third-longest career for a single team in league history.

By 1982, the Black Hawks squeaked into the playoffs as the 4th seed in the Norris Division (at the time the top four teams in each division automatically made the playoffs), and were one of the league's Cinderella team that year. Led by second-year Denis Savard's 32 goals and 119 points, and Doug Wilson's 39 goals, the Hawks stunned the Minnesota North Stars and St. Louis Blues in the playoffs before losing to another surprise team, the Vancouver Canucks. Chicago proved they were no fluke the next season, also making the third round before losing to the Stanley Cup Champion Edmonton Oilers. After an off-year in 1984, the Hawks again faced Edmonton and lost in the third round in 1985.

In 1986, while going through the team's records, someone discovered the team's original NHL contract, and found that the name "Blackhawks" was printed as a compound word as opposed to two separate words ("Black Hawks") which was the way most sources had always been printing it and as the team had always officially listed it. The name officially became "Chicago Blackhawks" from that point forward.

In the late 1980s Chicago still made the playoffs on an annual basis, but made early-round exits each time. It wasn't for a lack of offense though: Savard and Steve Larmer each consistently scored 30 goals a season.

In 1989, 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 season of both goalie Ed Belfour and center Jeremy Roenick. Once again though, they would fail to make the Stanley Cup finals, losing to the eventual champion 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 Edmonton Oilers. In 1991 Chicago was poised to fare even better in the playoffs, winning the Presidents' Trophy for best regular-season record, but the Cinderella Minnesota North Stars stunned them in six games in the first round en route to an improbable Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

In 1992 the Blackhawks, with Roenick scoring 53 goals, Chris Chelios (acquired from Montreal two years previously) on defense, and Belfour in goal, finally reached the final round. They were no match for Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins, losing in four straight games.

Belfour posted a 40-win season in 1993 as the Hawks looked to go deep yet again, but the St. Louis Blues stunned Chicago with a first round sweep.

After a near-.500 season in 1994, the Blackhawks moved out of the old Chicago Stadium and into the new United Center in the lockout-shortened 1995 season. Bernie Nichols and Joe Murphy both scored 20 goals over 48 games, and Chicago once again made it to the Western Conference Finals, losing to the Detroit Red Wings.

Roenick, Belfour, and Chelios were all traded away as the Blackhawks faltered through the late 1990s until they missed the playoffs in 1998 for the first time in 29 years, one season short of tying the Boston Bruins' record for the longest such streak in North American professional history.

The 21st century

Eric Daze, Alexei Zhamnov and Tony Amonte emerged as some of the team's leading stars by this time. However, Chicago missed the playoffs for 4 straight years until they took a quick first-round exit in 2002.

Amonte left for Phoenix in the summer of 2002, and Chicago missed the playoffs again in 2003.

Following the lockout of the 2004-2005 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 Stanley Cup-winning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and All-Star defenseman Adrian Aucoin. However, injuries plagued Khabibulin and Aucoin (among others), and the Blackhawks again finished with one of the worst records in the league (26-43-13). A somber note was struck in February of 2004, when ESPN named the Blackhawks the worst franchise in professional sports ^*.

The Blackhawks reached another low point on May 16, 2006, when they announced that longtime tv/radio play-by-play announcer Pat Foley, the voice of the Hawks for 25 years, was not going to be brought back for a 26th year, a move unpopular amongst most Blackhawks fans.

Despite GM Tallon's desperate moves, the Blackhawks finished 14th in the Western Conference in 2005-06. Their reward? They picked up talented young forward Jonathan Toews third overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Tallon made another step in the right direction on July 11th, 2006, when the Blackhawks acquired LW Martin Havlat and C Bryan Smolinski from the Ottawa Senators in a three team deal that involved the San Jose Sharks. The 'Hawks dealt Mark Bell to the Sharks, Michal Barinka and a 2008 2nd round draft pick to the Senators, while Ottawa also received defenseman Tom Preissing and center Josh Hennessey from San Jose. Havlat gives them the talented, 1st-line caliber gamebreaker they so desperately needed.

Nevertheless, the team has still not won the Cup since 1961, the longest drought of any current NHL team. (The current Ottawa Senators franchise began play in 1992, named for a team that folded in 1934 and last won the Cup in 1927.)

Season-by-Season Record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season	League	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1926-27	NHL	44	19	22	3	--	41	115	116	448	3rd, American	QF, 5-10 TG (Bruins)
1927-28	NHL	44	7	34	3	--	17	68	134	375	5th, American	Out of Playoffs
1928-29	NHL	44	7	29	8	--	22	33	85	363	5th, American	Out of Playoffs
1929-30	NHL	44	21	18	5	--	47	117	111	573	2nd, American	QF, 2-3 TG (Canadiens)
1930-31	NHL	44	24	17	3	--	51	108	78	416	2nd, American	Final, 2-3 (Canadiens)
1931-32	NHL	48	18	19	11	--	47	86	101	464	2nd, American	QF, 2-6 TG (Maple Leafs)
1932-33	NHL	48	16	20	12	--	44	88	101	401	4th, American	Out of Playoffs
1933-34	NHL	48	20	17	11	--	51	88	83	337	2nd, American	Stanley Cup Champions 3-1
1934-35	NHL	48	26	17	5	--	57	118	88	375	2nd, American	QF, 0-1 TG (Maroons)
1935-36	NHL	48	21	19	8	--	50	93	92	411	3rd, American	QF, 5-7 TG (Americans)
1936-37	NHL	48	14	27	7	--	35	99	131	291	4th, American	Out of Playoffs
1937-38	NHL	48	14	25	9	--	37	97	139	258	3rd, American	Stanley Cup Champions 3-1
1938-39	NHL	48	12	28	8	--	32	91	132	367	7th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1939-40	NHL	48	23	19	6	--	52	112	120	351	4th, NHL	QF, 0-2 (Maple Leafs)
1940-41	NHL	48	16	25	7	--	39	112	139	335	5th, NHL	SF, 0-2 (Red Wings)
1941-42	NHL	48	22	23	3	--	47	145	155	365	4th, NHL	QF, 1-2 (Bruins)
1942-43	NHL	50	19	19	12	--	50	179	180	361	5th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1943-44	NHL	50	22	23	5	--	49	178	187	240	4th, NHL	Final, 0-4 (Canadiens)
1944-45	NHL	50	13	30	7	--	33	141	194	245	5th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1945-46	NHL	50	23	20	7	--	53	200	178	339	3rd, NHL	QF, 0-4 (Canadiens)
1946-47	NHL	60	19	37	4	--	42	193	274	467	6th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1947-48	NHL	60	20	34	6	--	46	195	225	572	6th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1948-49	NHL	60	21	31	8	--	50	173	211	695	5th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1949-50	NHL	70	22	38	10	--	54	203	244	620	6th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1950-51	NHL	70	13	47	10	--	36	171	280	615	6th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1951-52	NHL	70	17	44	9	--	43	158	241	627	6th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1952-53	NHL	70	27	28	15	--	69	169	175	736	4th, NHL	SF, 3-4 (Canadiens)
1953-54	NHL	70	12	51	7	--	31	133	242	797	6th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1954-55	NHL	70	13	40	17	--	43	161	235	733	6th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1955-56	NHL	70	19	39	12	--	50	155	216	826	6rd, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1956-57	NHL	70	16	39	15	--	47	169	225	809	6th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1957-58	NHL	70	24	39	7	--	55	163	202	906	5th, NHL	Out of Playoffs
1958-59	NHL	70	28	29	13	--	69	197	208	921	3rd, NHL	SF, 2-4 (Canadiens)
1959-60	NHL	70	28	29	13	--	69	191	180	970	3rd, NHL	SF, 0-4 (Canadiens)
1960-61	NHL	70	29	24	17	--	75	198	180	1072	3rd, NHL	Stanley Cup Champions 4-2
1961-62	NHL	70	31	26	13	--	75	217	186	894	3rd, NHL	Final, 2-4 (Maple Leafs)
1962-63	NHL	70	32	21	17	--	81	194	178	906	2nd, NHL	SF, 2-4 (Red Wings)
1963-64	NHL	70	36	22	12	--	84	218	169	1116	2nd, NHL	SF, 3-4 (Red Wings)
1964-65	NHL	70	34	28	8	--	76	224	176	1051	3rd, NHL	Final, 3-4 (Canadiens)
1965-66	NHL	70	37	25	8	--	82	240	187	815	2nd, NHL	SF, 2-4 (Red Wings)
1966-67	NHL	70	41	17	12	--	94	262	170		4th, NHL	SF, 2-4 (Maple Leafs)
1967-68	NHL	74	32	26	16	--	80	212	222	606	4th, East	SF, 1-4 (Canadiens)
1968-69	NHL	76	34	33	9	--	77	280	246	842	6th, East	Out of Playoffs
1969-70	NHL	76	45	22	9	--	99	250	170	901	1st, East	SF, 0-4 (Bruins)
1970-71	NHL	78	49	20	9	--	107	277	184	1280	1st, West	Final, 3-4 (Canadiens)
1971-72	NHL	78	46	17	15	--	107	256	166	844	1st, West	SF, 0-4 (Rangers)
1972-73	NHL	78	42	27	9	--	93	284	225	864	1st, West	Final, 2-4 (Canadiens)
1973-74	NHL	78	41	14	23	--	105	272	164	877	2nd, West	SF, 2-4 (Bruins)
1974-75	NHL	80	37	35	8	--	82	268	241	1112	3rd, Smythe	QF, 1-4 (Sabres)
1975-76	NHL	80	32	30	18	--	82	254	261	944	1st, Smythe	QF, 0-4 (Canadiens)
1976-77	NHL	80	26	43	11	--	63	240	298	1104	3rd, Smythe	R1, 0-2 (Islanders)
1977-78	NHL	80	32	29	19	--	83	230	220	1308	1st, Smythe	QF, 0-4 (Bruins)
1978-79	NHL	80	29	36	15	--	73	244	277	1254	1st, Smythe	QF, 0-4 (Islanders)
1979-80	NHL	80	34	27	19	--	87	241	250	1325	1st, Smythe	QF, 0-4 (Sabres)
1980-81	NHL	80	31	33	16	--	78	304	315	1660	3rd, Norris	Div SF, 0-3 (Flames)
1981-82	NHL	80	30	38	12	--	72	332	363	1775	4th, Norris	Conf Final, 1-4 (Canucks)
1982-83	NHL	80	47	23	10	--	104	338	268	1185	1st, Norris	Conf Final, 0-4 (Oilers)
1983-84	NHL	80	30	42	8	--	68	277	311	1358	4th, Norris	Div SF, 2-3 (North Stars)
1984-85	NHL	80	38	35	7	--	83	309	299	1432	2nd, Norris	Conf Final, 2-4 (Oilers)
1985-86	NHL	80	39	33	8	--	86	351	349	1537	1st, Norris	Div SF, 0-3 (Maple Leafs)
1986-87	NHL	80	29	37	14	--	72	290	310	1692	3rd, Norris	Div SF, 0-4 (Red Wings)
1987-88	NHL	80	30	41	9	--	69	284	328	2228	3rd, Norris	Div SF, 1-4 (Blues)
1988-89	NHL	80	27	41	12	--	66	297	335	2496	4th, Norris	Conf Final, 1-4 (Flames)
1989-90	NHL	80	41	33	6	--	88	316	294	2426	1st, Norris	Conf Final, 2-4 (Oilers)
1990-91	NHL	80	49	23	8	--	106	284	211	2412	1st, Norris	Div SF, 2-4 (North Stars)
1991-92	NHL	80	36	29	15	--	87	257	236	2663	2nd, Norris	Final, 0-4 (Penguins)
1992-93	NHL	84	47	25	12	--	106	279	230	2394	1st, Norris	Div SF, 0-4 (Blues)
1993-94	NHL	84	39	36	9	--	87	254	240	2125	5th, Central	Conf QF, 2-4 (Maple Leafs)
1994-95¹	NHL	48	24	19	5	--	53	156	115	1123	3rd, Central	Conf Final, 1-4 (Red Wings)
1995-96	NHL	82	40	28	14	--	94	273	220	1880	2nd, Central	Conf SF, 2-4 (Avalanche)
1996-97	NHL	82	34	35	13	--	81	223	210	1763	5th, Central	Conf QF, 2-4 (Avalanche)
1997-98	NHL	82	30	39	13	--	73	192	199	1546	5th, Central	Out of Playoffs
1998-99	NHL	82	29	41	12	--	70	202	248	1807	3rd, Central	Out of Playoffs
1999-00	NHL	82	33	37	10	2	78	242	245	1444	3rd, Central	Out of Playoffs
2000-01	NHL	82	29	40	8	5	71	190	233	1234	4th, Central	Out of Playoffs
2001-02	NHL	82	41	27	13	1	96	216	207	1234	3rd, Central	Conf QF, 1-4 (Blues)
2002-03	NHL	82	30	33	13	6	79	207	226	1189	3rd, Central	Out of Playoffs
2003-04	NHL	82	20	43	11	8	59	188	259	1318	5th, Central	Out of Playoffs
2004-05²	NHL	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2005-06	NHL	82	26	43	--	13	65	211	285	1518	4th in Central	Out of Playoffs

¹ Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.

² Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Notable players

Current Roster

As of July 15th, 2006 ^*

Goaltenders
Number	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
29	Patrick Lalime	L	2006	St. Bonaventure, Quebec
39	Nikolai Khabibulin	L	2005	Sverdlovsk, Russia

Defensemen
Number	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
2	Duncan Keith	L	2002	Winnipeg, Manitoba
5	Jassen Cullimore	L	2004	Simcoe, Ontario
7	Brent Seabrook	R	2003	Richmond, British Columbia
23	Jim Vandermeer - A	L	2004	Caroline, Alberta
33	Adrian Aucoin - C	R	2005	Ottawa, Ontario

Forwards
Number	Player	Shoots	Position	Acquired	Place of Birth
-	Denis Arkhipov	L	C	2006	Kazan, Russia
-	Tony Salmelainen	R	RW	2006	Espoo, Finland
10	Patrick Sharp	R	C	2005	Thunder Bay, Ontario
11	Bryan Smolinski	R	C	2006	Toledo, Ohio
14	Rene Bourque	L	LW	2004	Lac La Biche, Alberta
15	Tuomo Ruutu	L	LW	2001	Vantaa, Finland
16	Radim Vrbata	R	RW	2005	Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic
17	Michael Holmqvist	L	LW	2005	Stockholm, Sweden
19	Kyle Calder - A	L	LW	1997	Mannville, Alberta
22	Martin Lapointe - C	R	RW	2005	Ville St-Pierre, Quebec
24	Martin Havlát	L	LW	2006	Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic

Hall of Famers

Team captains

Dick Irvin 1926-29
Duke Dukowski 1929-30
Ty Arbour 1930-31
Cy Wentworth 1931-32
Helge Bostrom 1932-33
Chuck Gardiner 1933-34
no captain 1934-35
Johnny Gottselig 1935-40
Earl Seibert 1940-42
Doug Bentley 1942-44
Clint Smith 1944-45
John Mariucci 1945-46
Red Hamill 1946-47
John Mariucci 1947-48
Gaye Stewart 1948-49
Doug Bentley 1949-50
Jack Stewart 1950-52
Bill Gadsby 1952-54
Gus Mortson 1954-57
no captain 1957-58
Ed Litzenberger 1958-61
Pierre Pilote 1961-68

no captain 1968-69
Pat Stapleton 1969-70
no captain 1970-75
Stan Mikita & Pit Martin 1975-76
Stan Mikita, Pit Martin & Keith Magnuson 1976-77
Keith Magnuson 1977-79
Keith Magnuson & Terry Ruskowski 1979-80
Terry Ruskowski 1980-82
Darryl Sutter 1982-87
Bob Murray 1985-86 (served as captain, while Darryl Sutter was injured)
no captain 1987-88
Denis Savard & Dirk Graham 1988-89
Dirk Graham 1989-95
Chris Chelios 1995-99
Doug Gilmour 1999-00
Tony Amonte 2000-02
Alexei Zhamnov 2002-04
no captain 2004-05 (lockout)
Adrian Aucoin 2005- present
Martin Lapointe 2006- present (served while Aucoin was injured)

Retired numbers

1 Glenn Hall, G, 1957-67
3 Keith Magnuson, D, 1969-80 (not officially retired, but no longer issued by the team)
9 Bobby Hull, LW, 1957-72
18 Denis Savard, C, 1980-90 & 1995-97
21 Stan Mikita, C, 1958-80
35 Tony Esposito, G, 1969-84
99 Wayne Gretzky (retired league-wide by the NHL)

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in the history of the Blackhawks. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, P/G = Pts per Game

Player	POS	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
Stan Mikita	C	1394	541	926	1467	1.05
Bobby Hull	LW	1036	604	549	1153	1.11
Denis Savard	C	881	337	719	1096	1.24
Steve Larmer	RW	891	406	517	923	1.04
Doug Wilson	D	938	225	554	779	.83
Dennis Hull	LW	904	298	342	640	.71
Pit Martin	C	740	243	384	627	.85
Jeremy Roenick	C	524	267	329	596	1.14
Tony Amonte	LW/RW	627	268	273	541	.86
Bill Mosienko	RW	711	258	282	540	.76