Tag: Chicago Blackhawks

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Former Blackhawks call out team in yet another controversy

NBC Sports

The (shortened) 2013 NHL season was in the midst of the glory years for the Chicago Blackhawks, who saw their franchise resurrected from the dead and having been named not even a decade prior by ESPN as the worst franchise in all of professional sports. 

Not only did Chicago cruise through the regular season, they were able to overcome a 3-1 series deficit against the rival Red Wings and then take down the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings before a clash of the titans matchup against the Boston Bruins. The goals 17 seconds apart in the waning moments of Game 6 in Boston by Brian Bickell and Dave Bolland will forever be one of the greatest moments in Windy City history. 

But now, things are vastly different for the Blackhawks, who are in full rebuild mode and also coming off a stunning controversy that put a permanent cloud of shame over the organization for how they handled the sexual assault of former player Kyle Beach by video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2010 postseason. Meanwhile, the Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews era is officially over, with the former having been dealt to the New York Rangers while the latter played his final game in a Blackhawks uniform last week. 

And a few additional former members of the Blackhawks who were part of the 2013 Cup winning squad are speaking out on the organization’s lack of recognition for their accomplishment a decade later.

“We’re all hoping they do one,” Brandon Saad said with a shrug. “I know there’s usually a 10-year reunion, and we’re hoping they do it. Hopefully, whenever it is, we’re not playing and I have a chance to come back and enjoy it. It’s always nice to get back with guys you had success with.”

“I don’t know if it’s been delayed or something like that. But we’re all still hoping.”

Meanwhile, an additional player who spoke anonymously said that it seemed to be part of a trend. 

“It’s like they just want to move on from us completely,” the player said. “Doesn’t make much sense to me.”

Another former player said that “nobody asked” members of the 2013 team with regards for a date that would work for them all to be recognized at United Center. 

Unfortunately for the Blackhawks organization, this is just another lump of coal in the stockings of fans who were on top of the world at this point in 2013. 

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Truth of Jonathan Toews’ departure from Blackhawks comes out

NHL.com

It’s officially the end of an era in the Windy City that saw a franchise resurrected from the dead, the return of home games actually being broadcast on television, and a trio of unforgettable Stanley Cup runs. 

Jonathan Toews, the longtime captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, played his final game with the franchise on Thursday night at a packed United Center against the Philadelphia Flyers. Toews scored a goal for good measure, and got a proper sendoff from the crowd afterward. 

While Toews’ health has cast doubt upon his future playing in the NHL, it doesn’t sound as though he’s quite ready to call it a career on hockey’s biggest stage. And apparently, it wasn’t his decision that Thursday night was the last time he plays for the Blackhawks. In fact, it sounds as though that was purely a move made by team management, led by general manager Kyle Davidson. 

Per Mark Lazerus of The Athletic: 

“MacKenzie Entwistle said Jonathan Toews told the guys in Seattle that the Blackhawks wouldn’t be re-signing him. Nothing formal, just casual talks with teammates in the meal room.”

And according to comments made by Davidson himself, it certainly sounds as though the franchise was ready to move in a new direction without Toews, whether he wanted to or not. 

“I don’t know if resting on sentimentality or the past does us any good in the future,” Davidson said.

Professional sports certainly are a business, and there will be uncomfortable partings that can result in bitterness and hurt feelings. But to Toews’ credit, it doesn’t sound as though he’s sore over the decision – at least not publicly. 

“There’s absolutely no hard feelings,” he said. “I have nothing but love and gratitude for the Blackhawks and Rocky Wirtz and the Blackhawks family — everyone over the years who’s been a part of that. … It’s a business.”

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Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz rips Chicago crime rate

NBA.com

With the crime rate rising in the Windy City, the owner of the Chicago Blackhawks is speaking out on his desire for fans who attend games at United Center to feel safe when they venture into that section of town. 

“Crime is something we have to be careful [about] because we want people to come into the United Center. That’s where the Bulls and Blackhawks play. And our partner, [Chairperson of the Chicago Bulls] Jerry Reinsdorf, we both own a piece of the building. And the important thing is that we want fans to feel comfortable coming to our building and how we can do that,” Wirtz explained during an appearance on Cavuto: Coast to Coast. 

It was less than a week ago that a man was shot and killed while near the venue on the sidewalk in the 2100 block of West Randolph Street. Wirtz is hoping that Chicago’s mayor elect Brandon Johnson will be tougher on crime than his predecessor Lori Lightfoot, who oversaw several businesses leaving the city due to the rising violent crime rates. 

“Chicago has 50 different wards. This is the time for the 50 wards to work together with City Hall. And I believe that the mayor-elect is going to do that if he comes out of the gate strong — which I believe he will. This is a time to reinforce the help that the business community can have,” Wirtz continued.

The safety of fans attending an event, whether it be a sporting event or concert, should never be taken for granted. While Wirtz certainly earned a deserved share of criticism for his bizarre outburst during a season ticket holder event just over a year ago, he’s right in wanting people who are patrons of his business to want to continue coming down and spending their money. 

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Patrick Kane finally “comfortable” with Rangers

Blue Line Station

Forward Patrick Kane certainly made no bones about his displeasure after the New York Rangers acquired forward Vladimir Tarasenko from the St. Louis Blues last month, which appeared to signal the end of their interest in bringing him aboard as well. But the good news for Kane is that he eventually did get his happy ending. 

Kane would ultimately be acquired by the Rangers from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a conditional 2023 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick; the conditional second-round pick becomes a first-round pick in either 2024 or 2025 if Kane is able to help the Rangers win two playoff rounds this year. 

It certainly is an adjustment when you come to a new team after having worn a single NHL uniform for the first 16 years of your NHL career, and Kane said that it was no different from him coming from The Windy City to The Big Apple. He’s getting more and more acclimated to his new teammates and system, having tallied five goals and five assists in the 16 games he’s appeared in wearing the blue and red of the Rangers.

“I would say I’m comfortable,” Kane told NHL.com last week. “After the first four or five games I felt like I was getting somewhere and now it’s like kind of at that place where you’re in the mode of you feel you should still try to take over.” 

“I know they’ve had a lot of success here, so I’m viewing these 21 games to just get myself settled in, figure out the way I need to do things, figure out the way I need to play and then make sure everything is dialed once the playoffs start,” Kane continued.

The Rangers have championship aspirations, and will be looking for a return trip to the Eastern Conference Final, albeit with a better outcome than last year’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. For Kane, his routine with the Blackhawks involved plenty of winning, having lifted the Stanley Cup three times in six years. He’s now grown accustomed to his new routine in New York that he’s envisioning being capped with more postseason success.

“You get into a routine for 16 years with things you’re so used to, so accustomed to that you don’t really have to think about it,” he said. “Then you come here and all of a sudden you have to think about it, like how you’re going to do your pregame warmup or where you’re doing it, or what’s you’re going to need from the trainers. It’s all things like that. They may not seem like meaningful things but they’re things you have to dial in to have a routine.”

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Chicago Blackhawks active on waivers Sunday.

The Chicago Blackhawks are the only team active on waivers Sunday, leaving one of their players vulnerable to a potential late-season claim.

According to a report from Cap Friendly, the Blackhawks have placed forward Joey Anderson on waivers, with the intent likely being to send him back down to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League. Anderson has appeared in 18 games for the Blackhawks this season and has been relatively productive with 3 goals and 2 assists for a total of 5 points over that stretch, and prior to that he also appeared in 14 games for the Maple Leafs this season, scoring twice and adding an assist for a total of 3 points with that team.

The Blackhawks acquired Anderson when the Leafs made him available via waivers earlier in the season and you have to wonder if the Blackhawks may effectively be setting themselves up to lose Anderson to another team with this move.

Anderson was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and has a total of 90 games of NHL experience under his belt.