Chicago Blackhawks: All-Time Rivalry Mount Rushmore

The Chicago Blackhawks have had some serious rivals during their time in the NHL. Some of the rivals the Blackhawks smoked, some they were even with, and some smoked them.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks are a rivalry that will never end, no matter which conference the two teams are in. As it’s died down during the past few seasons, the two times these two meet up each year is fun.

The Blackhawks truly had the last laugh, as they came back from a 3-1 deficit in the 2013 playoffs to win a Game 7, in the Red Wings’ last game as a Western Conference team. It was a great, dramatic, physical series, which saw some old-time hockey between the two.

In the regular season, the Red Wings have the series lead, with a  369–271–84–15 record, which will probably never be broken, as they play just twice a year. It would take a long time, which even then, might never happen.

The Blackhawks are in the lead for 43 playoff wins to 38 against each other. They also have the lead for most wins in a row, which was 13 against the Red Wings. Two of the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup wins have come against the Red Wings. They haven’t lost a Stanley Cup series against them in league history.

Another historic these two teams have in common is they played in the first winter classic game ever, against each other in 2009. That game didn’t go Chicago’s way, but it’s cool to see these bitter rivals make history together.

These two teams never have and never will get along. Overall, Detroit is Chicago’s biggest rival, but unless the NHL pairs them in the same division again, they’ll stay as distant rivals, instead of head-on rivals.

Nashville Predators

Now, this rivalry is somewhat fresh, as the Blackhawks and Predators really hit it off starting in 2010. The Blackhawks went through the Predators during the 2010 playoffs, along with doing the same in 2015, both years winning the Stanley Cup.

This is controversial, as the Predators haven’t found much success in their entire existence. They’ve struggled to make it past the second round for most of their time in the NHL. Still, as of late they’ve been a powerhouse in the Central Division, a powerhouse who has kept Chicago on their toes.

If people think new rivalries are dead in sports, look no further than these two teams. Every time these two teams match up, it’s brutal. The Blackhawks aren’t technically a physical team, but when called upon, they can lay the body on teams. One of those teams in Nashville.

The Blackhawks are 60-44-4-9 against the Predators in their 117 meetings. This season, the teams split the season series, with a potential of them meeting in the playoffs if there is a 24-team playoff race. If this does happen, I want Chicago to beat both Nashville and then dethrone the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues.

What really helped head up this rivalry was Nashville sweeping the Blackhawks in 2017. If Chicago would have gone through Nashville, which everyone expected them to, they wouldn’t be on the list. The issue for these two teams is their tension since 2010.

Without the past decade having these two teams matchup three times in the playoffs and starting a big feud, they wouldn’t be on this list. If things keep going the way they have, they’ll be here for a long time.

Vancouver Canucks

I don’t care what anyone says here, the Canucks are a very dirty team when they play the Blackhawks. The 1995 series where the Blackhawks swept them caused a stir for their fans. The same thing happened when Chicago beat them in the 2009 and 2010 playoffs.

The 2009 and 2010 playoff series’ between the two saw many dirty hits, a ton of fights, a Jonathan Toews–Ryan Kesler rivalry that I’m a fan of, and much more. These two teams truly started their beef towards the end of the 2009 season, where they were fighting for home ice.

There was a huge brawl that happened in Chicago, and these two teams kept the fire up in the playoffs. It was more than a game between the two teams as things got personal real quick. The two would exchange verbal jabs, would disrespect the other in press-conferences, and would be ready to drop the gloves any time they saw each other.

Can you imagine if Twitter was big back in 2009-2011, the number of negative tweets towards each other would make them look like Conor McGregor’s verbal assaults on Khabib Nurmagomedov and the rest of the lightweight division.

Anyone who wants to say this rivalry is over hasn’t seen them play as of late. Their meetings this season were aggressive, as both teams on the cusp of being playoff teams again. We might see this rivalry re-ignite in the 2020s.

It’ll be interesting to see the younger players, who are active on Twitter, and what they may say during these meetings. It’ll be nice if the Blackhawks could run through them one more time in the playoffs, as I cannot personally stand their fans.

One bracket of a 24-team playoff race showed Chicago matching up against Vancouver in the first round, best of five, another showed the Oilers. If the Blackhawks matchup with the Canucks in round one, I’m ready for this rivalry to heat up again.