NHL Team Guide: Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks were one of the Original Six members of the NHL along with Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, Boston, and the New York Rangers. The organization has a long and checkered past that began with its founding in 1926. There have been a number of championships through the years as well as some years of struggle.
Chicago fans can watch the Blackhawks on TV on NBC and NBCSN when they are on a national broadcast. Chicago’s NHL schedule can be viewed by Blackhawk fans in the city and surrounding areas on NBC Sports Chicago. Games are available via live streaming on the NBC Sports app.
NHL Standings
Chicago was an American Division team in the early NHL. The Blackhawks are now one of seven teams – Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, and Winnipeg are the others – in the Central Division of the Western Conference.
Championship History
Chicago has enjoyed plenty of success throughout its 93 years of existence. The Blackhawks have qualified for the postseason 62 times. That includes 16 seasons in which Chicago won a division title, the first of which was in 1969-70. The most recent division championship was in 2016-17.
The Blackhawks have won two President’s Trophies, one in 1990-91 and another in 2012-13, both years in which the team won its division. Chicago has won four conference championships and has six Stanley Cups. Between 2010 and 2015, the Blackhawks won three Stanley Cup titles.
Home of the Blackhawks
The Blackhawks played in the old Chicago Stadium for 65 years before moving into the United Center in 1994. The arena is the largest in the U.S. by size but not capacity. United Center seats 19,717 for hockey games.
Best Blackhawks
Chicago has been blessed with some great players over the years. The franchise is represented by 39 former players in the Hockey Hall of Fame. One of those is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Stan Mikita. Considered the greatest center of the 1960s, Mikita scored 541 goals and 1,467 points. He is the only player in NHL history to win the Hart, Art Ross, and Lady Byng Trophies in the same season and he did it twice (1966-67 and 1967-68).
Bobby Hull played 15 seasons in Chicago and was a teammate of Mikita. Hull has the franchise record for goals with 604 and is second on the scoring list with 1,153. Hull won the Art Ross Trophy (scoring champion) three times (1960, 1962, 1966), the Hart Memorial Trophy (regular season MVP) twice (1965 and 1966), and the Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship) once (1965). Statues of both Hull and Mikita were erected outside of the United Center where the Blackhawks currently play.
Denis Savard played a total of 13 seasons in Chicago and is third on the all-time scoring list. Savard, who is second in Blackhawks history in assists with 719, scored 1,096 points. In Savard’s first stint in Chicago from 1980 to 1990, he scored over 100 points in five of ten seasons. He returned to the Blackhawks in the 1994-95 season and played until 1997. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.
Patrick Kane, who is in his 13th season with Chicago, recently surpassed the 1,000-point mark in January 2020.
Author: Dan Anderson