Chicago Blackhawks Need Wall Of Fame For Stars Of Yesteryear

The Chicago Blackhawks find ways to honor some of their all-time greats, but a more permanent option should be put on the table

My inability to fall asleep produced a great idea. The Chicago Blackhawks need a Wall of Fame/ Ring of Fame. The Blackhawks currently only have six names and five numbers hanging from the United Center rafters. The players are those of Glenn Hall (1), Pierre Pilote (3), Keith Magnuson (3), Bobby Hull (9), Denis Savard (18) and Stan Mikita (21). Magnuson is the only player whose number is retired who is not in the NHL Hall of Fame.

All of these numbers should be retired. My thoughts then went to the players whose numbers are not retired but were very good Blackhawks players. My thoughts instantly took me to Steve Larmer and Patrick Sharp.  Every year someone tweets or writes an article on why Larmer’s number should be retired.

It is clear to me , the Blackhawks are not retiring Larmer’s number. That is a shame that Larmer is not honored around the United Center in some way shape or form. So I came up with another idea.

Potential early candidates

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The ’Hawks should do something to honor him in the arena. Thus the idea of the Ring of Fame/Wall of Fame. In the NFL, teams honor their very best players with a ring a fame. This is an easy way to honor their all-time greats without retiring their numbers.

The ’Hawks could create a Wall of Fame to put in the atrium listing the honored players’ accomplishments with a picture. Larmer was my first choice. Larmer ranked third in franchise history in points. Doug Wilson would be my second choice for the Wall of Fame among the past Blackhawks. Wilson is ranked third in assists all time and fifth in games played.

When I started looking toward the future, my mind centered on Marian Hossa and Sharp. I do believe the Blackhawks will do the right thing and retire Hossa’s number when the time comes. Hossa, despite playing for several other teams during his NHL career, has spent the longest time with the Blackhawks.

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Sharp is curious case. Sharp is 13th in goals and 15th in assists in franchise history.  He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and a top-100 franchise player.  In my mind, he is not worthy of having his number retired, but he is worthy of being in the new Wall of Fame.