Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Chicago Blackhawks.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Chicago had an awful season, as expected, but they are now in pure rebuilding mode and should jump up in the standings next year.  As such, there were no changes in our Top 50, but we always acknowledge that we took notice of the last season.

As always, we present our top five, which (obviously) saw no changes:

1. Stan Mikita
2. Bobby Hull
3. Patrick Kane
4. Glenn Hall
5. Duncan Keith

 

You can find the entire list here.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Chicago Blackhawks.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Original Six team did not make the playoffs, and there was only one change on the list.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Stan Mikita

2. Bobby Hull

3. Patrick Kane

4. Glenn Hall

5. Duncan Keith

You can find the entire list here.

Notably Patrick Kane, was unable to move from #3 before he was traded to the New York Rangers.

The only change is the now-departed, Jonathan Toews, who advanced one spot to #12.

Let’s see if this season will impact the list in next year’s revision.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Hockey lost a legend today with the passing of Bobby Hull.  He was 84 years old.

Hull made an impact in his first season in professional hockey.  The gifted scorer was the runner-up for the Calder in the 1957-58 season and as the 60’s came calling he would win his first batch of individual awards as in the 1959-60 season he was the NHL’s leading goal scorer, the Art Ross Trophy winner and a First Team All Star.  That is a career season for most players but for “The Golden Jet” it was just the beginning.

After helping Chicago win the 1961 Stanley Cup, Hull went on a tear where he was named to post-season All-Star Team eleven years in a row (nine First Team and two Second Team).  Excelling at putting the puck in the net, Hull led the NHL in that category seven times and is the franchise all-time leader with 604 and he was the first player to exceed 50 Goals in a Season.  A large part of the story of his success was the curved stick that he and teammate Stan Mikita popularized and as the possessor of one the fastest shots in the NHL (in addition to also being one of the quickest skaters) made him an offensive juggernaut.  The Left Winger would also win the Hart Trophy and the Lady Byng in the 1964-65 season.

Like many star players of the National Hockey League, Hull felt underpaid and he jumped to the upstart World Hockey Association in 1972 when the Winnipeg Jets (who had his rights) shockingly met his asking price of one million dollars.  He helped the Jets win the Avco Cup twice, and had a brief return to the NHL when the WHA merged with the NHL.  

Hull entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 his first year of eligibility.

As phenomenal as he was on the ice, Hull was a controversial figure off it, known for a volatile temper, allegations of domestic abuse, and horrific comments in 1998 to a Moscow newspaper, though Hull denied those comments.

A 17-year veteran, Duncan Keith was a Second Round Pick in 2002 by the Chicago Blackhawks; the native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, would slowly become of the most complete blueliners in hockey.  

Keith first made the Blackhawks in 2005, breaking out in the 2009-10 Season, where he not only won the Norris Trophy but anchored Chicago to their first Stanley Cup in decades.  A Norris winner again in 2013/14, Keith added rings to his finger in 2013 and 2015, the latter seeing him win the Conn Smythe as the NHL's top playoff performer.

Capable of everything you want from a Defenseman, complete with rushing skills and tenacious ice protection, it can be easily stated that the Stanley Cup would not have returned to the Windy City three times in the 2010s, and though he has not received the due he should have, he was a superstar and giant of the game.  

Keith finished his career with a season in Edmonton before retiring with 117.0 Point Shares and 646 Points.

Internationally, Keith also captured Gold for Canada in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2021/22 revision of our top Chicago Blackhawks.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Chicago failed to make the playoffs, and with an Original Six franchise, it is difficult to make it to, or advance in the list.  There was only one new entrant.

As always, we present our top five:

1. Stan Mikita

2. Bobby Hull

3. Patrick Kane

4. Glenn Hall

5. Duncan Keith

You can find the entire list here.

While Kane was active last year, he was not able to move over Hull for #2.  It is still a tall order for him to do so.

Jonathan Toews inched up one more spot to #12.

The only new entrant is Alex DeBrincat, an All-Star last year, who was traded to the Ottawa Senators in the off-season.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

From Michigan, Alex DeBrincat set goal-scoring records for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League, leading the Winger to be drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks early in the Second Round of the 2016 Draft.  After completing one more year in the OHL, DeBrincat was ready for the big time.

DeBrincat had a solid rookie year, scoring 52 Points, and he broke out with a 41 Goal/76 Point year where he was sixth in Goals.  He had a third-year slump, dropping to 45 Points, but was over a Point-per-Game player in the COVID-stricken 2021-21 campaign with his 31 Goals good enough for third in the league.  

By this point, DeBrincat emerged as the team’s top scorer, and he was named an Alternate Captain.  He matched his 41 Goal output from before in 2021-22, and he was an All-Star for the first time, though despite his success, Chicago was a bad team looking to rebuild.  DeBrincat was surprisingly traded to Ottawa Senators for three Draft Picks.  With Chicago, DeBrincat scored 307 Points and less than 100 Penalty Minutes in five NHL Seasons.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2021-22 revision of our top 50 Chicago Blackhawks.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NHL. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Please note, that this is our first revision in in the last three years, and it has generated two new entries.  

As always, we present our top five immediately:

1. Stan Mikita

2. Bobby Hull

3. Patrick Kane

4. Glenn Hall

5. Duncan Keith

You can find the entire list here.

There are no changes in the top five, despite Kane being at #3.  This was the same spot he was at three years ago, and while he is closing on Hull, he is not quite there yet.  Keith, who is now with Edmonton, was #5 last time, but was unable to supplant Hall for #4.

Recently retired Goalie, Corey Crawford,  enters the list at #26.  We erroneously left Crawford off our inaugural top 50.  

Left Wing, Brandon Saad, comes in at #50.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Corey Crawford was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2003 (52^nd Overall) but it was not until the 2010-11 Season where he saw significant playing time for the parent club.

Crawford became Chicago’s top Goalie, where he had the task of helping them defend their Stanley Cup Title.  The Blackhawks did not repeat as champions in 2011, but Crawford was the Goalie behind their wins in 2013 and 2015.  A two-time winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy and two-time All-Star, Crawford finished in the top ten in Save Percentage four times, and was in the top ten in Vezina trophy three times.

He retired after the 2019/20 Season, completing his career in Chicago with a record 260-162-53.

There was not a lot to cheer for if you were a fan of the Atlanta Flames, but the second place finisher for the Calder Trophy in 1973-74 gave you a reason to come out to the arena. 

When you have a nickname of “Old Hardrock” you kind of get an idea of just what type of Defenseman that Gus Mortson was.  From Northern Ontario he was paired with another youngster in Jim Thomson and they would become the ”Gold Dust Twins”. 

Bob Murray played his entire NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks where he was named a two-time All-Star.  Murray was never ever considered among the upper echelon of NHL Defenceman but this was a hockey player who was in the league for 1,008 Games and it was all with one team, a testament to his value to a franchise.  Murray scored 514 Points over his professional career.

Before we continue, can we state how much we love the hockey name of “Moose Vasko”?

It is awesome right?

Let’s continue…

Kenny Wharram played his entire career with the Chicago Blackhawks where he would help the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 1961.  Wharram would have four 65 Point seasons and two of which would see him nab a First Team All-Star nod.  His best season took place in 1963-64 where he would win the Lady Byng, his first First Team All-Star and was the first place finisher in Power Play Goals and Shooting Percentage and his 39 Goals allowed him a second place finish overall.

The younger brother of Hockey Hall of Famer, Tiny Thompson, Paul Thompson was a star player in his own right.  Three times Thompson would hoist the Stanley Cup and he would be named to two post-season NHL All-Star Teams.  Thompson’s best seasons as a player were with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he would serve as the team’s Head Coach for seven years.

While Dennis Hull is thought of my some as Bobby’s brother or Brett’s uncle, we choose to remember that of a pretty good two-way hockey player who represented the Chicago Blackhawks five times in the All-Star Game.  Hull was a Second Team All-Star in 1973, a year after he represented Canada in the Summit Series against the Soviet Union.  He scored 654 Points overall in his career.

One of the members of the Chicago Blackhawks three Stanley Cup wins of the 2010’s (2010, 2013 & 2015) Patrick Sharp was one of the better defensive forwards of his era.  Sharp spent the majority of his professional career with Chicago and he was often a fringe contender for the Frank J. Selke Award and in the 2007-08 he finished first in the National Hockey League in Short-Handed Goals.  Sharp would also finish in the top ten in Goals twice and internationally he was a member of Team Canada’s 2014 Olympic win.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Chicago Blackhawks, a team of the Original Six.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1. Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NHL.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2017-18 Season.

The complete list can be found here,but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Stan Mikita

2. Bobby Hull

3. Patrick Kane

4. Glenn Hall

5. Duncan Keith

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  Look for our top 50 Philadelphia Flyers soon.

As always, we thank you for your support.

Troy Murray would win the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 1985/86 and as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks he would receive votes for that award in seven other seasons.  Murray was never named an All Star in his career, but he was a very good two way player who had a 99 Point season in the year he won the Selke.  As a Blackhawk he would score 488 Points, a good number by any metric.

Al Secord arrived in Chicago after essentially being given up on by the Boston Bruins and the change of scenery certainly proved to be fruitful for the Left Wing.

Prior to making his National Hockey League debut, Bill Hay was traded from the Montreal Canadiens for Cash who would watch their former farmhand win the Calder Trophy in 1960 and assist the Blackhawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup.  Hay was a solid playmaker whose 386 Points (all with Chicago) were Assists and he was the leader in Assists per Game in the 1961/62 season.  Hay would play eight seasons in the NHL and would retire shortly after being claimed the St. Louis Blues in the Expansion Draft.