Chicago Blackhawks Greatest 100- #40 Eric Daze

The history of the NHL is littered with plenty of What If stories, one of the biggest ones for a Chicago Blackhawks player has to be What if Eric Daze didn’t have back problems.

Eric Daze was the 90th selection overall in the 1993 NHL entry draft, and the big forward (6ft 6in) had a lot of potential to be a star.

Daze was blessed with a very good wrister and the ability to put pucks into the back of the net with a lot of regularity.

In his rookie season, Daze scored 30 times with 26 assists, but lost the Calder trophy to Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators who had 61 points during his rookie campaign.

During his rookie season, the Hawks also made a very deep run in the playoffs, getting all the way to the Conference Finals before losing to the hated Detroit Red Wings.  Daze played in 16 games but only picked up an assists along the way.

Daze would score 30 or more goals 4 different times during his career with 38 goals being his highest total during his only All-Star season in 2001-2002.

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Not only do injuries get talked about a lot with Daze, but also his inability to go to the net and put his big frame in front of opposing goalies with his size and skill set were always talked about a lot.  It’s like a 7footer in the NBA that only wants to shoot 3 pointers.

Daze only made the playoffs four times during his careers since most of his career spanned the dark ages of Chicago Blackhawks hockey.

He still ranks 14th all-time in Chicago Blackhawks scoring so it’s not like he had a total bust of a career, it’s just if it wasn’t for the injuries it could have been so much more.

You still see Daze every once in a while at functions like the Chicago Blackhawks convention, and he never played anywhere else during his career so he’s a true Blackhawks through in through.

What do you remember most of Daze’s career?

Next: Are The Blackhawks One Injury Away from Missing the Playoffs?

Only 40 more days until the season finally kicks off in October!