Chicago Blackhawks’ 7 Ghosts Of Seasons Past

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Halloween is tomorrow! And the Chicago Blackhawks don’t have a game tomorrow! Hopefully you all have opportunities abound to trick-or-treat with your children, attend a Halloween party or maybe trick-or-treat yourself in spite of your age. I’m not here to judge.

At Blackhawk Up, it’s only right we get into the holiday spirit a bit. Today, we’re going to do that by taking a look at hockey types from the past who haunt the Blackhawks to this day. Whether it was by a single thing the person did or a result of a long-term action (or inaction), these individuals hold a spot in the dark, unexposed part of Blackhawks fans’ hearts. We don’t want their names said. We don’t really want to talk about them, unless we just want to rant a bit. They’re our ghosts of seasons past.

Now I will say this before I start: Considering I’m just 23-years-old, my immediate responses would likely be far different from those of someone who has been watching the team for longer than I’ve been on Earth. So I’m going to try and plunge into the before-my-time past to get some ghosts from there, too. After all, it’s not fair for just a segment of the Blackhawk Up readership to be scared on Halloween Eve while the other part rolls its eyes at how corny the attempted scare was. Also, this list is in no particular order.

And away we go!

Mike Smith, Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes goaltender

Why he’s a Blackhawks ghost: When you think of Smith, you should always think of the horrible acting job he did to get Andrew Shaw suspended for their collision in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. Not only does it make you dislike him more, it also helps you forget what else he did in that opening-round series.

Sure, the Blackhawks weren’t any kind of juggernaut that season, but they had a solid team that actually boasted a better record than the Phoenix outfit. They managed 101 points, which was only fourth-best in the Central Division. Meanwhile, Arizona managed 97 points but won the old Pacific Division. Of course, thanks to seeding rules at the time, Phoenix’s division title earned it the No. 3 seed while the Blackhawks slipped to No. 6.

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Blackhawks fans might have been licking their chops at the matchup despite not having home ice, but Smith made sure those wearing the Indian Head and their fans were seeing his ghost for years to come. Smith posted an obscene .950 save percentage in six games while seeing 241 shots compared to the 159 faced by Corey Crawford. Considering the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings went on to win the Stanley Cup this season, the championship really was up for grabs. If Smith doesn’t pull off his best Tony Esposito impression, the Blackhawks just might have won that title. But we’ll never know, thanks to the ghost of Mike Smith.

Oct 26, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith (41) warms up before playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Campoli, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman

Why he’s a Blackhawks ghost: It’s not what he did over a career, a season or a series. Not even over an entire game. It was one shift. One stinking shift in Game 7 of a Western Conference first-round series against the Vancouver Canucks in 2011. The Blackhawks had taken playoff series from the Canucks in 2009 and 2010. But Vancouver was the top seed while Chicago was seeded eighth entering the 2011 postseason, and the Canucks started the series by winning the first three games.

But we know how it went from there. Brent Seabrook is injured by a dangerous Raffi Torres hit. The Blackhawks respond in offensive force. Roberto Luongo gets pulled. Dave Bolland annihilates Dan Hamhuis to create a goal. Michael Frolik obliterates Cory Schneider‘s groin on a converted penalty shot. Luongo returns and gives up an overtime goal to Ben Smith. Jonathan Toews finds twine late in regulation in Game 7.

It almost seemed like destiny that the Blackhawks would find a way past the Canucks for the third consecutive season, a season in which the Canucks had the better team and the league’s best record. And then, Chris freaking Campoli.

His stretch-pass/clearing attempt up ice was picked off by Alexandre Burrows, and as Campoli skated backward toward Crawford and did essentially nothing to prevent a shot, Burrows let loose an absolute bomb that beat Crow high and ended the series. Campoli thankfully went away after this, but his ghost does remain for Blackhawks fans.

Next: More Ghosts, Further In The Past

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Chris Chelios signs wit Chicago Blackhawks (Photo courtesy of suntimes.com)

Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings defenseman

Why he’s a Blackhawks ghost: I’m not sure I need to explain this one to a sizable portion of the fan base. In March 1999, the Blackhawks captain since 1995 and one of its most-recognizable faces since 1990 was moved to the rival Detroit Red Wings for a return that would never be good enough. This may have been the moment the dark times started for the Blackhawks, as they made the playoffs once in the next eight seasons following Chelios’ departure.

Chelios went on to be part of some very good Red Wings teams and get recognized by the hockey masses as a Red Wing instead of as a Blackhawk. He won a pair of Stanley Cups with Detroit after helping Chicago get close in 1992. Chelios was 37 when he was traded to Detroit, but he still had a ton in the tank. It was painful to see it used somewhere else, especially since that somewhere else was a rival city. So it’s not necessarily his fault he’s a Blackhawks ghost, but he is one all the same.

Jan 18, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; General view of the Mario Lemieux statue and the exterior of the CONSOL Energy Center before the Pittsburgh Penguins host the New York Rangers. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins center

Why he’s a Blackhawks ghost: There’s not doubting Lemieux is one of the best to ever lace up the skates in the NHL. But would it have killed him to have had an off stretch back in May 1992? Blackhawks fans are certainly wishing it would’ve been possible. Chicago had in the previous year crossed the 30-season mark for a Stanley Cup drought, but it looked like it might not go much longer at this time. The Blackhawks managed to knock off a pair of rivals in the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings — the latter whom had finished ahead of the Blackhawks in the divisional race — before sweeping the Edmonton Oilers in the conference finals.

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That left Lemieux and the Penguins in the way of immortality. The Pens, like the Blackhawks, had achieved an 87-point regular season. But the Stanley Cup Final series between the teams was anything but even, in large part because of Lemieux’s offensive talents. He tallied five goals and two assists against a pair of future Hall of Fame goaltenders in Ed Belfour and Dominik Hasek as Pittsburgh swept Chicago, winning high-scoring games (5-4 in Game 1 and 6-5 in Game 4) and low-scoring efforts (3-1 in Game 2 and 1-0 in Game 3). A special-guest ghost award goes to Rick Tocchet, who led Pittsburgh with eight points in the four games.

But Lemieux was the center of the Penguins’ world, and that makes him the ultimate Blackhawks ghost in this instance. What made it worse was this turned out to be the Blackhawks’ best chance at breaking their championship drought until it actually was broken in 2010. Another long wait for diehard fans.

Curtis Joseph showing off his legendary helmet. picture courtesy: Dave Sanford/ Getty Images

Curtis Joseph, St. Louis Blues goaltender

Why he’s a Blackhawks ghost: Turns out there’s precedent for what Smith did to the Blackhawks in the 2012 playoffs. What should have been the Blackhawks’ best chance at ending their title drought came in the season after they fell in the Cup Final to Pittsburgh. Chicago rebounded with a division-winning campaign in 1992-93, posting the most points in their conference and third-most in the league. They drew the rival Blues, the team with the fewest points among all playoff qualifiers, in the opening round.

The result was pretty much the opposite of what would’ve happened on paper. Belfour was rocked to the tune of an .866 save percentage in four games. Jeremy Roenick, Steve Larmer, Brent Sutter, Chelios and others could get nothing going on offense. And Joseph was in the middle of it all, posting a .957 save percentage with two shutouts in four consecutive wins, all while facing 43 more shots than Belfour.

The Blues went on to lose their next series, and the Blackhawks went on to a few seasons of so-so results while saying goodbye to key pieces like Roenick, Chelios and Belfour, and saying goodbye to consistent success. Joseph is truly a ghost because of what he did to the Blackhawks in the 1993 playoffs, and what happened in the aftermath.

Next: Get Ready For Two More Big-Time Haunts

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Dominik Hasek #31 Chicago Blackhawks (Picture Courtesy of Goaliesarchives.com)

Dominik Hasek, Chicago Blackhawks/Buffalo Sabres/Ottawa Senators/Detroit Red Wings goaltender

Why he’s a Blackhawks ghost: Mistakes will occasionally happen in the transactions of any professional sports team. What happened in 1992 when the Blackhawks traded a future Hall of Famer to Buffalo, however, is now a great haunting moment for the Chicago franchise. Hasek was backup to Belfour for two seasons with the Blackhawks before they decided to move him to the Sabres for what amounted to the draft pick used on Eric Daze.

After playing in just 25 games over two seasons in Chicago, Hasek turned into one of the league’s best netminders seemingly overnight, and starting in his late-20s. Hasek was a 10-time All-Star, six-time Vezina Trophy winner, three-time Jennings Trophy winner, tw0-time Hart Trophy and Pearson Award winner and a two-time Stanley Cup champion, all after leaving the Windy City. Of course, those two titles came with the rival Red Wings. Oh, and as was mentioned, he made the pro hockey Hall of Fame after playing until age 43.

You could say a mistake was made when the Blackhawks moved Hasek, but they could have had no idea he’d evolve into a superstar in less than a season. It’s what makes him a truly haunting ghost of the Blackhawks organization.

Jan 13, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres former goalie Dominik Hasek waves to the crowd as he takes the ice during his ceremony to get his number retired prior to a game against the Detroit Red Wings at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Bill Wirtz, Chicago Blackhawks owner

Why he’s a Blackhawks ghost: I promise this isn’t meant as a crack at the fact Wirtz is deceased, even though Blackhawks fans booed viciously when Wirtz was honored at the United Center shortly after his death. While Wirtz did some positive things for the franchise in the form of charity work, what he did for and to the on-ice product and the team’s fan base was nothing short of a disaster. Players like Belfour, Hasek, Roenick and Chelios were moved under his watch. He refused to lift a blackout policy on home games. And he led the organization when it was named ESPN’s worst in the four major sports.

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