Blackhawks Number History, 31-35

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
Numbers 26-30

No. 31 – Jeff Hackett

Number of players to wear No. 31: 19
First player to wear No. 31: Steve Larmer
Last player to wear No. 31: Dylan Wells
The rest of the No. 31s: Ken Solheim, Steve Ludzik, Dan Frawley, Bob Sauve, Bob Mason, Ed Belfour, Jacques Cloutier, Dominik Hasek, Jeff Hackett, Marc Lamothe, Craig Anderson, Brian Boucher, Antti Niemi, Antti Raanta, Anton Forsberg, Anton Khudobin
Fun Fact: Dan Frawley was the last skater to wear No. 31 in 1985. It’s only been worn by goaltenders since.

The Blackhawks have been blessed with some great goaltenders over the years. While Jeff Hackett isn’t on the top of that list, he had a very good run during his time in Chicago. He was acquired from the San Jose Sharks ahead of the 1993-94 season and served as Ed Belfour’s backup. He broke out during the 1996-97 season, posting a .927 save percentage (SV%) and 2.16 goals-against average (GAA) in his 41 starts. His play made management feel that Belfour was expendable, as they traded him to the Sharks at the deadline. Hackett made 58 starts the following season, going 21-25-11 with a .917 SV%, 2.20 GAA, and eight shutouts. The following season, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in a six-player trade that included a player who will show up later on this list, Jocelyn Thibault.

No. 32 – Steve Thomas

Number of players to wear No. 32: 24
First player to wear No. 32: Don Dietrich
Last player to wear No. 32: Alex Stalock
The rest of the No. 32s: Dan Frawley, Randy Boyd, Bruce Boudreau, Bruce Cassidy, Darin Sceviour, Steve Thomas, Stephane Matteau, Steve Dubinsky, Robert Dirk, Murray Craven, Daniel Cleary, Radim Bicanek, Alain Nasreddine, Ryan VandenBussche, Robbie Tallas, Pavel Vorobiev, Jonas Nordqvist, Kris Versteeg, John Scott, Michal Rozsival, Kevin Lankinen
Fun Fact: Bruce Boudreau and Bruce Cassidy, who wore No. 32 for the Blackhawks in back-to-back seasons, have a combined 1,087 NHL wins as head coaches.

Steve Thomas enjoyed a long, consistent NHL career, playing in 20 different seasons. He had two stints with the Blackhawks over his two decades in the league. He was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1987 in a trade that sent Al Secord and Eddie Olcyzk the other way. Although he was limited to only 75 games in his first two seasons, he still scored 28 goals and 55 points. The 1989-90 season was his best with the Blackhawks, when he scored 34 goals and 59 points. Early into the following season, he was traded to the New York Islanders for Brent Sutter. Thomas returned in 2001 as a free agent before he was traded again in 2003 to the Anaheim Ducks for a fifth-round draft pick. He was a proven postseason performer in his career. He had 13 goals and 29 points in 46 Stanley Cup playoff games with the Blackhawks.

No. 33 – Dirk Graham

Number of players to wear No. 33: 13
First player to wear No. 33: Darrel Anholt
Last player to wear No. 33: Drew Commesso
The rest of the No. 33s: Tom McMurchy, Dirk Graham, Kent Paynter, Reid Simpson, Jamie Allison, Louie DeBrusk, Shawn Thornton, Adrian Aucoin, Dustin Byfuglien, Carter Hutton, Scott Darling
Fun Fact: Two captains have worn No. 33, Dirk Graham and Adrian Aucoin.

Originally drafted by the Vancouver Canucks, Dirk Graham had a good three-year run with the Minnesota North Stars until his career really took off with the Blackhawks. He was acquired midway through the 1987-88 season for Curt Fraser and scored 17 goals and 36 points in 42 games. The following season, he scored a career-high 33 goals and 78 points, with 10 of those goals coming shorthanded. He joined  Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Marcel Dionne as one of only four players to score 10 shorthanded goals in a season. His 26 shorthanded goals are still the franchise record and probably will be for a long time.

Graham was named captain late in the 1988-89 season, replacing Denis Savard. He won the Selke Trophy in 1991 for being the NHL’s best defensive forward. He was a big part of the Blackhawks’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1992. He retired in 1995 after scoring 152 goals and 343 points in 546 games. He joined Craig Hartsburg’s coaching staff after hanging up his skates and briefly served as head coach during the 1998-99 season. He has the distinction of being the first team captain and head coach of African descent in NHL history.

No. 34 – Petr Mrazek

Number of players to wear No. 34: 28
First player to wear No. 34: Tony Poeta
Last player to wear No. 34: Colton Dach
The rest of the No. 34s: Bill Gardner, Bruce Cassidy, Perry Pelensky, Chris Clifford, Darren Pang, Victor Posa, Mike Rucinski, Tony Horacek, James Black, Ryan VandenBussche, Dean McAmmond, Blair Atcheynum, Jason Strudwick, Jim Dowd, Nikita Alexeev, Reed Low, Petri Kontiola, Dylan Olsen, Tim Erixon, Jiri Sekac, Jean-Francois Berube, Carl Soderberg, Kevin Lankinen, Kurtis Gabriel, Petr Marzek
Fun Fact: Kevin Lankinen, who wore No. 34 for his NHL debut, started an online book club in his native Finland to promote youth literacy.

While some good players have worn No. 34, like Bill Gardner, Darren Pang, and Dominik Hasek, they only wore it for a short time. In fact, only three players wore it for more than one season. Petr Mrazek had the most success of that group. He was a salary cap dump by the Maple Leafs at the 2022 draft. The Blackhawks were given the first-round pick, which turned into Sam Rinzel, to take on the final year of his contract. He played well enough on a tanking team to earn a two-year contract extension. He won 38 games in his two-plus seasons with the Blackhawks, posting an .889 SV% and 3.34 GAA with one shutout.

No. 35 – Tony Esposito

Only one player has ever worn No. 35, the great Tony Esposito. After what he accomplished in a Blackhawks uniform, nobody will ever wear it again. He holds the franchise record for the most games played (873), wins (418), and shutouts (74). He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984 and had his number retired in 1988.

The Montreal Canadiens left Esposito unprotected in the 1969 waiver draft, and the Blackhawks pounced. His rookie season was one for the ages, as he set a modern-day record with 15 shutouts, one that probably won’t ever be broken. He was rewarded with the Calder Trophy for being the league’s top rookie and the first of three Vezina Trophies. He earned his famous nickname of “Tony O” during this memorable season for his knack of blanking his opponent.

Esposito backstopped the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Final in 1971 and 1973, and joined former teammate Ken Dryden on Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. He is remembered for always looking for a competitive edge on the ice, including stitching webbing into the crotch of his uniform to help keep the puck out of the net. He was an early pioneer of the butterfly style of goaltending, which is common today. And since we need a fun fact, Esposito was only the second player in NHL history to wear No. 35.

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