Blackhawks Number History, 36-40

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
Numbers 31-35

No. 36 – Dave Bolland

Number of players to wear No. 36: 9
First to wear No. 36: Mike Rucinski
Last to wear No. 36: Josiah Slavin
The rest of the 36s: Jimmy Waite, Alexi Zhamnov, Chris Herperger, Mikhail Yakubov, Matthew Barnaby, Dave Bolland, Matthew Highmore
Fun Fact: Matthew Highmore scored more playoff goals (3) than Alexei Zhamnov (0) for the Blackhawks.

In most lines of work, earning the nickname “The Rat” isn’t something to be proud of, but in hockey, you wear it like a badge of honor. Dave Bolland was the player who gladly went out to get under opposing players’ skin, and he did it well. He made his NHL debut in 2007 after being a second-round pick in 2004. He scored 70 goals and 208 points in 332 games.

Bolland was an offensive force in juniors, scoring 91 goals and 215 points in his two seasons for the London Knights after being drafted. He changed his style of play to stay in the NHL, becoming a guy who did the dirty work in front of the net and along the boards. He had some big moments in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with 17 goals and 43 points in 67 games. He had three shorthanded goals and three game-winning goals, including the Cup-winning goal in 2013, 17 seconds after Bryan Bickell tied Game 6.

No. 37 – Adam Burish

Number of players to wear No. 37: 9
First to wear No. 37: Bruce Cassidy
Last to wear No. 37: David Gust
The rest of the No. 37s: Jean-Yves Leroux, Bryan Muir, Michael Nylander, Steve Passmore, Curtis Brown, Adam Burish, Brandon Pirri
Fun Fact: David Gust is the only Illinois-born player to wear No. 37 for the Blackhawks.

Adam Burish was far from flashy, but he accepted his role and executed it well with the Blackhawks. He had the most success of all the players to wear No. 37, scoring 11 goals and 21 points in 169 games. He scored three goals during the Blackhawks' run to the 2009 Western Conference Finals. His biggest goal was the game-winner in the series-clinching victory over the Calgary Flames in the first round. He dressed for 15 games during the memorable 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, earning his name on the Stanley Cup.

No. 38 – Brandon Hagel

Number of players to wear No. 38: 10
First to wear No. 38: Kent Paynter
Last to wear No. 38: Ethan Del Mastro
The rest of the No. 38s: James Black, Jamie Allison, Nolan Baumgartner, Jason Morgan, Bryan Bickell, Cristobal Huet, Ryan Hartman, Brandon Hagel
Fun Fact: James Black is the only No. 38 to score in a Stanley Cup Playoff game.

It’s hard to think that a player who only played 108 games for the Blackhawks would be the best to ever wear a number, but here we are. He is the highest-scoring No. 38 in team history with 30 goals and 61 points. He’s gone on to great success with the Tampa Bay Lightning, as the Blackhawks wait to see what becomes of Oliver Moore and Sacha Boisvert.

No. 39 – Nikolai Khabibulin

Number of players to wear No. 39: 11
First to wear No. 39: Jim Playfair
Last to wear No. 39: Luke Philp
The rest of the No. 39s: Enric Ciccone, Craig Mills, Chris McAlpine, Tyler Arnason, Nikolai Khabibulin, Cristobal Huet, Jimmy Hayes, Kyle Baun, Dennis Gilbert
Fun Fact: Enrico Ciccone’s goal against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 20, 1996, was the first scored in Blackhawks history by a player wearing No. 39.

The Blackhawks signed Nikolai Khabibulin coming out of the owners’ lockout that cost us the 2004-05 season. The last time we saw the Russian-born goaltender, he was raising the Stanley Cup with the Lightning. The four-year, $27 million contract he signed was not something the Blackhawks of that era did very often. He wore No. 53 his first season, then switched to No. 39 for the 2006-07 season. He wore it again for his second stint in Chicago during the 2013-14 season. He made 146 starts, going 73-54-18, with a .909 save percentage (SV%), 2.64 GAA, and six shutouts. He won eight games in the 2009 playoffs with a .898 SV% and 2.93 GAA before suffering a lower-body injury in the Western Conference Finals.

No. 40 – Darren Pang

Number of players to wear No. 40: 11
First to wear No. 40: Warren Skorodenski
Last to wear No. 40: Arvid Soderblom
The rest of the No. 40s: Darren Pang, Ethan Moreau, Chris Terreri, Casey Hankinson, Matt Underhill, Patrick Lalime, Kent Simpson, John Hayden, Robin Lehner
Fun Fact: John Hayden is the only player in Blackhawks history to score a goal wearing No. 40.

No. 40 has been worn nearly exclusively by goaltenders, except for one game by Ethan Moreau and three seasons by Hayden. Robin Lehner had a good run in the number for the half-season he was here, and Patrick Lalime was solid in his two years. Darren Pang, mostly known for his broadcasting career, has the most wins in No. 40, with 27. That’s two more wins than Arvid Soderblom, who currently wears it, despite playing 39 fewer games.

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