Chicago Blackhawks: Steve Larmer Days Until Banner Raising

We had so much fun doing our Countdown to Faceoff series last season that we decided to do it again.  In case you’re new to the series, we’ll do a roster preview as we count down the days until the Chicago Blackhawks raise their 6th Stanley Cup Banner on October 7th season opener against the New York Rangers.

We are at 28 days left in our countdown, and it’s time for my annual rant on why Steve Larmer should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and have his number retired and hanging from the rafters of the United Center.

As i’ve stated before Al Secord was my favorite player, and on his other wing was Mr. Reliable Steve Larmer.  Larmer played for 13 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, and is near or at the top of most offensive categories in franchise history.

Larmer won the Calder Trophy for best rookie, and then went on to play in 884 consecutive games which is the third longest in NHL history and far and away the Blackhawks record.

Larmer scored 40 goals 5 times, and he scored 30 goals 4 times, and he’s one of the most consistent goal scorers in Blackhawks history. Larmer collected 923 points in Chicago and collected a little over 1,000 points in his NHL career which ended with the Rangers and coach Mike Keenan with a Stanley Cup.

If there ever is a player that is overlooked in NHL history, Larmer is one of the biggest players in that category.  Larmer really should be in the Hall with his number retired, but for now it’s not meant to be.

More from All Time Blackhawks

• Blackhawks’ Legend Niklas Hjalmarsson Retires After 14 Seasons
• Blackhawks: The five longest tenured captains in team history
• Blackhawks News: Andrew Shaw Retires At Age 29
• Best Blackhawks Goalie of All-Time: Esposito, Hall, or Crawford?
• The Jersey Numbers Never Worn in Blackhawks History

Since the number isn’t retired, Chicago Blackhawks newcomer Ryan Garbutt will be wearing #28 this upcoming season.  Garbutt was part of the Patrick Sharp trade with the Dallas Stars, and what his role will be is still up in the air. Garbutt looks to be a third of fourth line player for Joel Quenneville, but with the Chicago Blackhawks coach anything is possible.

Here’s a quick look at the rest of the #28’s in franchise history.

More from All Time Blackhawks

• Blackhawks’ Legend Niklas Hjalmarsson Retires After 14 Seasons
• Blackhawks: The five longest tenured captains in team history
• Blackhawks News: Andrew Shaw Retires At Age 29
• Best Blackhawks Goalie of All-Time: Esposito, Hall, or Crawford?
• The Jersey Numbers Never Worn in Blackhawks History

1. Larry Romanchych-1971 Romanchych played the first 10 of his 298 NHL career games in Chicago.  He picked up 2 assists in Chicago, but for his career he scored 68 goals and 97 assists.

2. Doug Hicks 1978-1979 Hicks played in 57 games with the Blackhawks picking up 2 goals and 15 assists before being claimed by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1979 expansion draft.

3. Kirk Bowman 1979- Bowman dressed in 88 games for Chicago picking up 11 goals and 17 assists.

4. Tim Trimper-1980 Trimper played the first 30 games of his NHL career with the Hawks scoring 6 goals and 10 assists before getting traded to the Winnipeg Jets.

5. Miles Zaharko– 1981 Zaharko played 3 seasons with the Hawks and wore 4 different jersey numbers (7,26,8,28) He scored 4 goals and 13 assists in the early 80’s.

6. Doug Crossman-1981-1982 Crossman also wore #23 with the Hawks, he played in 159 games scoring 25 goals and 70 assists in a career that lasted 14 seasons.

7. Steve Larmer 1983-1993 Larmer ranks 3rd all-time in goals scored while wearing a Blackhawks jersey with 406 and 4th in points with 923. Larmer’s #28 should already be retired and up in the UC rafters as one of the Blackhawks all-time greats.  He played on my favorite line of all-time with Denis Savard and Al Secord.  Larmer and the 80’s Hawks never made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, but Larmer was on the 1994 New York Rangers team that won their first cup since 1940.

8. Mark Bell 2001-2007 Bell played in 334 games for the Hawks during one of the worst ages of Blackhawks history.  Bell scored 72 goals and 79 assists while wearing the Blackhawks sweater.

9. Michael Blunden 2008 Blunden played 10 games without picking up a point for the Hawks before taking his talents to Columbus.

10. Martin Lapointe 2008 Lapointe played in the NHL from 1991-2008 but his Blackhawks career was only 52 games of his 991 played. In his brief stay he scored 3 goals and 4 assists before ending his career with the Ottawa Senators.

11. Craig Adams-2008-2009 Adams played in 72 contests wearing #28 picking up 4 goals and 8 assists along the way.  Adams now plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins with a cap hit of $675,000.

12. Jake Dowell-2010-2011 Dowell was a 5th round pick by the Hawks in the 2004 draft.  Dowell played a full season for the Hawks in 2010-2011 6 goals and 15 assists before signing with the Dallas Stars.

Next: Kane Loses Again

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