Blackhawks Number History, 26-30

We’re continuing our journey through Chicago Blackhawks numbers history. With 100 years of hockey under its belt, this franchise has so many names to mention. This series will help shed light on the lesser-known and forgotten Blackhawks. We’re featuring the best player to wear each number, as well as giving you some fun facts along the way.

If you’ve missed any of the previous installments of this series, check them out:

Numbers 1-5
Numbers 6-10
Numbers 11-15
Numbers 16-20
Numbers 21-25

No. 26 – Steve Sullivan

Number of players to wear No. 26: 20
First to wear No. 26: Gary Donaldson
Last to wear No. 26: Andrew Mangiapane
The rest of the No. 26s: Bob Hoffmeyer, Miles Zaharko, Rick Paterson, Tim Trimper, David Mackey, Jocelyn Lemieux, Mike Peluso, Roger Johansson, Alexei Zhamnov, Todd White, Steve Sullivan, Milan Bartovic, Michal Handzus, Troy Brouwer, Samuel Pahlsson, Jeremy Morin, Kyle Cumiskey, Austin Wagner
Fun Fact: Mike Peluso wore No. 26 for the only two games he played as a defenseman. When he returned the next season, he switched to No. 44 and played on the wing, where he stayed for the rest of his career.

Steve Sullivan was a 5’9 winger who played in an era when players under 6’0 were less common in NHL lineups than they are today. You could argue that his success helped pave the way for the next generation of undersized players. The Blackhawks claimed Sullivan off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs early in the 1999-00 season. The move paid off with 118 goals and 303 points over the next 370 games.

Sullivan became one of the best players on some really bad teams. Unfortunately, he showed up during a down time for the franchise, but he made the best of it. The 22 goals he scored in his first season were the fewest he produced in his five seasons with the Blackhawks. He had a career-best 34 goals and 75 points in 2000-01. He was eventually traded to the Nashville Predators in 2004 for a pair of second-round picks, and played for seven more seasons. This past July, he was hired as the head coach of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.

No. 27 – Jeremy Roenick

Number of players to wear No. 27: 20
First to wear No. 27: Bobby Sheehan
Last to wear No. 27: Lukas Reichel
The rest of the No. 27s: Michel Archambault, Jeff McDill, Jean Savard, Rick Paterson, Darryl Sutter, Mile Zaharko, Rick Vaive, Jeremy Roenick, Ty Jones, Todd Simpson, Craig MacDonald, Andrei Zyuzin, Pascal Pelletier, Jeremy Mornin, Johnny Oduya, Andreas Martinsen, Adam Boqvist, Austin Wager
Fun Fact: Six first-round picks have worn No. 27 for the Blackhawks. Andrei Zyuzin was the highest pick in the group, selected second overall by the San Jose Sharks in 1996.

If you grew up in the 90s, Jeremy Roenick was the coolest athlete in Chicago. He personified the feel of the decade. He was loud, charismatic, and flashy, while also being a fantastic hockey player who didn’t shy away from anyone. He talked his trash and backed it up. With the hair flying out of the back of the helmet and his rockstar attitude, he made it cool to be a Blackhawks fan in the early 90s.

He made his NHL debut just a couple of months after being the eighth overall pick of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. He blew up in his third season, 1990-91, with 45 goals. The following season, he joined Bobby Hull and Al Secord as the only Blackhawks with a 50-goal season, netting 53. He scored 50 the next year to join Hull as the only player in team history with consecutive 50-goal seasons. He finished his Blackhawks career with 267 goals and 596 points in 524 regular-season games. In 82 Stanley Cup playoff games, he scored 35 goals and 77 points, including the last Blackhawks goal at the Chicago Stadium,

No. 28 – Steve Larmer

Number of players to wear No. 28: 19
First to wear No. 28: Larry Romanchych
Last to wear No. 28: Andre Burakovsky
The rest of the No. 28s: Doug Hicks, Kirk Bowman, Tim Trimper, Doug Crossman, Miles Zaharko, Steve Larmer, Mark Bell, Mike Blunden, Craig Adams, Martin Lapointe, Jack Dowell, Ben Smith, Ryan Garbutt, Henri Jokiharju, Vinnie Hinostroza, Andreas Englund, Colton Dach
Fun Fact: After Larmer was traded in 1993, nobody wore No. 28 again until 2001. Since then, 12 players have worn it.

In my humble opinion, Steve Larmer’s No. 28 should be hanging from the rafters of the United Center. The fact that he’s not in the Hockey Hall of Fame is a crime. At least he was part of the first induction class of the Blackhawks Hall of Fame earlier this year. Larmer never missed a game in his Blackhawks career, setting a franchise record of 884 straight games. Never missing a game while playing in the Norris Division is an incredible feat.

In addition to being the most dependable player during his 13 seasons with the Blackhawks, he was one of the most consistent. He scored 43 goals during the 1982-83 season, on his way to the Calder Trophy. He never scored fewer than 28 goals in a Blackhawks uniform and had four 30-goal seasons and five 40-goal seasons. In total, he scored 406 goals and 923 points in his 891 games for the Blackhawks.

No. 29 – Bryan Bickell

Number of players to wear No. 29: 17
First to wear No. 29: Ted Bulley
Last to wear No. 29: Kurtis Gabriel
The rest of the No. 29s: Steve Ludzik, Greg Millen, Jimmy Waite, Darin Kimble, Steve Dubinsky, Andrei Trefilov, Steve Passmore, Valeri Zelepukin, Shawn Thornton, Troy Brouwer, Jason Williams, Bryan Bickell, Andreas Martinsen, Madison Bowey, Marc-Andre Fleury
Fun Fact: Five goaltenders wore No. 29 for the Blackhawks. Steve Passmore and Marc-Andre Fleury are tied for the most wins, with 19.

If this list was the best overall player to wear No. 29 for the Blackhawks, then we’d be talking about Fleury. However, since the Hall of Fame goaltender played less than a full season in Chicago, we needed to peruse the rest of the list. It’s hard to argue with two-time Stanley Cup winner Bryan Bickell. The 2004 second-round pick scored 65 goals and 136 points in 384 regular-season games. However, he did his best work in the postseason. During the 2013 championship run, he scored nine goals and 17 points, including two game-winning goals. He scored the first half of the infamous “17 seconds” in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins. He was one of the best players of the 2014 run to the Western Conference Finals with seven goals and 10 points.

No. 30 – Ed Belfour

Number of players to wear No. 30: 24
First to wear No. 30: Denis DeJordy
Last to wear No. 30: Spencer Knight
The rest of the No. 30s: Dave Dryden, Jack Norris, Gerry Desjardins, Ken Brown, Gilles Meloche, Michael Dumas, Eddie Johnston, Murray Bannerman, Alaine Chevier, Jimmy Waite, Ed Belfour, Mark Fitzpatrick, Michael Laroque, Michael Leighton, Adam Munro, Sebastien Caron, Marty Turco, Ray Emery, Jeff Glass, Cam Ward, Malcolm Subban, Jaxson Stauber
Fun Fact: No skater has ever worn No. 30 in Blackhawks history; it has only been worn by goaltenders.

When talking about the attitude and coolness of the early 90s Blackhawks, you had Roenick and Chris Chelios leading the way. Ed Belfour was up there with those two, as far as being a great player and a badass on the ice. The undrafted free agent out of the University of North Dakota made his NHL debut in 1988. He won the Calder Trophy in 1991 after making 70 starts and winning 43 games in his first full NHL season. He also won the Vezina Trophy and finished third in Hart Trophy voting as the Blackhawks finished with the most points in the regular season. He won his second Vezina Trophy in 1993 after a 41-win season with a 2.59 goals-against average (GAA) and seven shutouts.

Belfour was a guy you needed to be careful of if you dared to go near the blue paint. That was his crease, and if you infringed on his territory, you paid the price. He was one of the best goaltenders in the entire NHL during his eight seasons with the Blackhawks. He is fourth in team history in games played (415), wins (201), saves (9,762), and shutouts (30). His 2.65 GAA is the eighth-best in Blackhawks history, and his .903 save percentage (SV%) is ninth.

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