Denis Savard #18 ( Picture courtesy of www.savard18.com)

On This Date in Chicago Blackhawks history,

On March 22, 1982 playing in Toronto against the Maple Leafts Denis Savard breaks Bobby Hull‘s single season team record of 107 points. Savard would end up with 119 points on 32 goals and 87 assists.  Savard still holds the top four season in points in Blackhawks history and five out of the top eight with his best season being 1987-1988 when he collected 44 goals and 87 assists for 131 points.

Savard led the Hawks to fourth place in the Norris Division in 1982, but the Hawks got hot in the playoffs and made it to the Conference Championship series, but went on to lose to the Vancouver Canucks (in what has to be the ugliest uniform ever) 4-1.

Denis Savard had a breakout season in 1982 and he now holds this record which has now stood for 29 years.

For more Blackhawks conversation follow us on Twitter @Blackhawk_up or friend us on Facebook at Blackhawk Up.

Oct 8, 2011; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks Hall of Famer Denis Savard is greeted by fans before the game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Denis Savard #18 Chicago Blackhawks (picture courtesy of legendsofhockey.net)

On this date in Chicago Blackhawks history,

On March 19, 1998 at a packed house at the United Center, The Chicago Blackhawks retired Denis Savard’s #18 and becoming the 5th number retired in Chicago Blackhawks franchise history.  Savard was the first pick and 3rd overall by the Blackhawks in 1980 and he produced from the start. Savard’s rookie season included 28 goals and 47 assists and a highlight reel of spectacular plays.

Savard played on my favorite Blackhawks line of all-time with Al Secord and Steve Larmer and they put a lot of pucks in the nets and a whole lot of great memories except that they could never get pass the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980′s.

Savard ranks fourth all-time in Blackhawks goals with 377 2nd all-time in assist with 719 and along with Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita the only three Blackhawks to collect over 1,000 points while wearing the Blackhawks sweater.

The spin-o-rama was Savard’s trademark move and in Dallas Saturday night Patrick Kane gave his version of the move!

On this date 15 years ago #18 was retired for all-time for an all-time great!

For more Blackhawks talk follow us on Twitter @Blackhawk_Up or friend us on Facebook at Blackhawk Up.

Mar 16, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) skates in the Dallas Stars zone during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Blackhawks defeated the Stars 8-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

There were many highlights from Saturday night’s 8-1 victory but it was Patrick Kane’s spin-0-rama goal that caught a lot of people’s eye.  Old school Blackhawks fans know were the spin-0-rama originated and that of course is Denis Savard.  Here is a retro look at Denis Savard and some classic spin-0-rama’s

Patrick Kane started his tribute to Savard a few weeks back with this spin-o-rama pass that set up a Marian Hossa goal.

Patrick Kane full tribute highlight reel was completed last night when he used the spin-o-rama to finish the scoring in the 8-1 Hawks win over Dallas.

No matter if it was in the 80′s or today the spin-0-rama is a thing of beauty from either the creator of the move in Denis Savard or the talented Patrick Kane!

For more Blackhawks conversation follow us on Twitter @Blackhawk_Up or Friend us on Facebook at Blackhawk Up.

Denis Savard 52nd Birthday ( Picture courtesy of www.savard18.com)

Happy 52nd birthday to Denis Savard the greatest Chicago Blackhawks center in my lifetime. Savard is fourth all-time in career goals by a Chicago Blackhawk with 377 only trailing Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and his line-mate for most seasons Steve Larmer.  Savard is third all-time in career points with 1,096 and 2nd in Blackhawk career assists with 719 trailing only Mikita.

Savard was exciting to watch and would always make Pat Foley go nuts when he did his patented “Spin-O-Rama”.  Unfortunately for all the great Hawks of the 80′s era they never could get past the Edmonton express led by Wayne Gretzky and company.

Savard ranked 5th in my all-time favorite Blackhawks, and today he celebrates another Birthday!

For more Blackhawks conversation please friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @Blackhawk_Up

Oct 8, 2011; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks Hall of Famer Denis Savard is greeted by fans before the game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

Denis Savard entered the hockey hall of fame in 2000, but he was a fan favorite in Chicago from the first time he took the ice in 1980 in Old Chicago Stadium. Savard played in what has to be thought of now as the golden age of scoring.  Before goalies were 6ft 5in and have equipment that makes scoring a goal a severe challenge, and while not having to deal with the neutral zone traps and other defensive lockdown plays.

Savard got to showcase his speed and skill nightly, and getting to watch him was very exciting as he routinely put up 100 point seasons as he scored and assisted seemingly every night.  Savard’s most famous move was the Spin-O-Rama which when performed use to get Pat Foley very excited, and even though the move was exciting and very effective it was his entire arsenal of offense that made Savard exciting.

Savard was the center of my favorite line of all time.  Savard with Steve Larmer and Al Secord was almost unstoppable.  All 3 were great scorers with Larmer being gritty and Secord the muscle.  This threesome could do it all from scoring to assisting to finishing off a check to finishing off a fight, and in the middle of it was the fast and flamboyant Denis Savard.

The only disappointing thing about this group and era in Chicago Blackhawks hockey is that no matter how hard they tried they could never get past the Edmonton Oilers. Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier were too much of a scoring machine in the 80′s for the Hawks ever to get to the Stanley Cup. The Hawks always seemed to make deep runs but in the end they always came up short.

The Blackhawks trade was sad but good at the time when they dealt Savard to the Montreal Canadians for Chris Chelios in 1990.  Savard was able to hoist the Stanley Cup with the Canadians in 1993.  Savard returned to the Hawks in 1995 and ended his career where it all began in 1997. The NHL has a quick Savard video with some great highlights click here to watch.

Savard was given the Head Coaching duties in 2006 with the task of grooming the Hawks new young talent for GM Dale Tallon.  The Hawks were doormats for most of the late 90′s and early 2000′s seem to be turning the corner with Savard at the helm.  His second season saw a +16 differential in the win column over his first season.  He was quickly dismissed from the position in 2008 with Joel Quenneville taking over who did lead the Hawks to the Stanley Cup, but Savard had a finger print in their success.

Savard is an ambassador for the Blackhawks organization and his #18 hangs from the rafters in the United Center, and if you are old enough you can always remember #18 doing a fancy offensive move right before the horn sounded and Foley proclaimed HE SCORES!!! And this is why Denis Savard is #5 of my list of my top 10 favorite Blackhawks of all time.

LET’S GO HAWKS!!

Dec 17, 2010; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks legends Denis Savard (18) and Tony Esposito (35) and Jeremy Roenick (27) and Stan Mikita (21) celebrate with Chris Chelios (center) as he is honored before the game against the Detroit Red Wings at the United Center. The Blackhawks beat the Red Wings 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. I hope you have a great day spending it with your kids.  As an adult I cheered with my Dad as the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup  two years ago while trying to tell my young daughter how to say the opponents name in each series, but as a kid I have two memories with my Dad that will last a lifetime.

The first memory with my Dad was opening night in 1986, and somehow he was able to score some tickets for us to go to the game.  He would usually get tickets once a season for a Blackhawks game, but to see the Hawks on opening night to see Denis Savard and Steve Larmer  play was something special.  They handed out calendars that night which of course I still have, and I’m not sure, but I believe there were more fights in the old Chicago Stadium stands than there were on the ice that night.  It was a great night even though I’m not sure if they won or loss that evening.

The second thing I remember is late one night watching an overtime playoff game which of course I was suppose to be sleeping.  The Hawks scored unexpectedly winning the game,  and me and my Dad erupted in a loud cheer that woke everyone in the house up!  I was glad that my Dad was there to receive the large amount of  grief from my Mother, but it didn’t matter because the Hawks won the game.

I’m sure you all have great memories with your Dad, and hopefully this next season will bring many more great memories!! Have a great Father’s Day!!

Let’s Go Hawks!!

2 years ago today Kaner scored the Championship winner! (Jerry Lai-USPRESSWIRE)

On This Date-Two years ago, Patrick Kane scored the greatest goal for the Chicago Blackhawks  in our lifetime!

Unless your 60 years old or older, your Blackhawk memories until June 9, 2010 were filled with disappointments! While watching as  a kid Denis Savard, Steve Larmer, Al Secord and company were a very good team that routinely made the playoffs, but there was one obstacle that they could not get pass to win a Stanley Cup.  Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers crushed many a good Blackhawks team in the 80′s and detoured all the Stanley Cup aspirations that this unit  had in that era.  A young Jeremy Roenick led the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1992, but another superstar was waiting for them in the Finals, and Mario Lemieux delivered four straight wins and the excitement of the 92 team reaching the finals was quickly vanished! (Luckily Michael Jordan was around in 1992 to help raise a banner that summer for a Chicago team.)

Flash forward to 2010 and  the young and exciting Chicago Blackhawks team ran threw the Western Conference to advance to the Finals to play against the Philadelphia Flyers.  To say that the series was a defensive battle or a goaltender series would be laughable. 57 goals were scored in the series, and the series also had the Blackhawks chasing the Flyers goaltenders twice in 6 and 7 goal efforts in winning games 1 and 5 in Chicago at the United Center.  The  two things I remember most about the series is how many goals were scored in Game One, and then the huge emotional swing of Game 6.

Being a Chicagoian and especially a Cubs fan, I take absolutely nothing for granted while watching a sporting event, so when Andrew Ladd scored late in the 2nd period of Game 6 to give the Hawks a 3-2 lead it seemed almost impossible that the Hawks would be able to hold that lead throughout the entire third period.  The Hawks played a seriously cautious third period ,and it seemed like the Flyers had a million chances to tie the game even though if you look at the box score it states shots on goal were 12-9 Philly.  Finally with less that 4 minutes remaining Scott Hartnell tied it up on an odd looking play in front of Antti Niemi and Game 6 was heading to overtime.  From four minutes to the hoisting the Cup, to overtime, and the chances of Game 7 in Chicago was a tremendous change of emotions.

Overtime gave us the greatest Stanley Cup clinching goal that nobody saw from Patrick Kane.  With a football juke at the side boards at a very bad angle  Kane got the puck past Michael Leighton (he didn’t stop much in the series).  And just like that 48 seasons of disappointment were erased!  It never gets old watching the goal so here is NHL.com link to the winning goal http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=72168

So even though the past two seasons have ended in disappointment, June 9 will forever be a one of the greatest days as a Chicago Blackhawks fan!!

There is only one goal for each NHL season.

Brad Mill-USPRESSWIRE

Enjoy the memories and here’s to Stan Bowman getting all the right pieces on the roster this off season, and Coach Quenneville to coaching them up to their highest potential to regain the best trophy in sports at the end of 2013 season.    Expecting a Stanley Cup needs to be expected and everything that possibly can be done, including throwing in the “kitchen sink”, to raise it over Jonathan Toews head again needs to be in the works this and every off season!!

Happy Stanley Cup Anniversary Day!! Hopefully there will be more than one date to celebrate in the future…

Let’s Go Hawks!!

Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

To add to all the issues facing the Blackhawks right now, there seems to be a power struggle going on at the United Center.  It appears that Joel Quenneville and Stan and Scotty Bowman are not on the same page right now.  There is a battle going on between the man behind the bench and the father/son duo upstairs.

The first shot was fired 10 days ago when Stan Bowman traded John Scott to the New York Rangers.  I think Bowman made this move to save Q from himself and no longer give him the option of playing Scott for 3 minutes a game.  Bowman must have been sick of watching Scott wasting a roster spot.  Q has been playing Scott’s replacement, Sami Lepisto, for about only 5 minutes a game.  I am not sure if this is Q’s way of firing back, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it is.  Even with the acquisition of Johnny Oduya, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith are still carrying the load when it comes to ice time.

Barry Smith was recently hired at Director of Player Development by Scotty Bowman.  Smith was on Bowman’s coaching staffs for 5 Stanley Cup winning teams in Pittsburgh and Detroit.  Smith has been on the ice coaching the Blackhawks’ special teams more than once in the last few days.  The word around town is this came from upstairs and not by Q’s request.  Q has played this off by saying all the right things in media but this can not be sitting well with him.  Quenneville has won a Stanley Cup and has the most wins among active coaches and now Scotty Bowman is going over his head.  The special teams do need all the help they can get but this is a very strange way to do it.

Is Barry Smith the next head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks?  I wouldn’t rule it out by any means.  Let us not forget how Quenneville got the job in the first place.  He was hired as a scout just a few weeks before the 2008-2009 season.  He replaced Dennis Savard as head coach after just 4 games that year.  Smith could have been brought in to be the man in waiting as the Bowmans decide what direction to take the team in.  I am in the middle of the road on whether to fire Quenneville or not.  He did bring home the first Stanley Cup in 49 years but his teams have done nothing but underachieve since then.  Stan Bowman does deserve some of the blame for that as well.  If Scotty Bowman wants to fire Quenneville I will give him the benefit of the doubt.  After all his name is on the Stanley Cup 12 times for a reason.   It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.  If Quenneville gets the Blackhawks deep into the playoffs all this talk and speculation about his future will go away.

The Hits Will Be Coming. Source: HF Boards.com

Hard Hawk Hockey, a phrase that you might remember Pat Foley saying during his broadcasts of games back in the late 80′s and early to mid 90′s.  Well at least I remember it.  It was at a time when the Chicago Blackhawks team was a forechecking and hitting machine.  Pressuring the oppostion, and hitting everything in site, those teams were tough to play against.  If you beat the Hawks back then, you earned.

If my memory is right, this all started back when Mike Keenan became the head coach in the 88-89 season.  I have a fondness for Mike that started in his days in Philadelphia when he coached the Flyers.  To this day there’s something about him that intrigues me.  His crazyness, his passion, his will to win.  All of it.  Sure some of you most likely can’t stand him, and with the dizzying roster moves he made once he became general manager, I can appreciate that.  I’ll never forget when he traded Rick Vaive to Buffalo for Adam Creighton and Christian Ruutu.  Pissed me off to no end.  But I also will never forget when he traded Denis Savard for my fellow countrymen, Chris Chelios.  That right there set the tone for the Hawks going forward, and how they would play for quite some time.  Many nights looked like this.

(more…)