Who is The Best Blackhawk of All-Time?

A very subjective question, and a fun one to talk about. I can’t answer for anyone so I’ll state my case for who I think is my favorite. There are 4 players that I think are the most recognizable, and a few of the biggest fan favorites.

Stan Mikita:

Stan Mikita, aka Stosh played on the Blackhawks from 58-59 to 79-80 seasons.  He was a fan favorite!  At the beginning of his career, he racked up penalty minutes, however, after a few years, his penalty minutes went down and his points went up. Astonishingly, he had one season where he had 197 penalty minutes and 97pts!

Stan played his entire career as a Blackhawk and served as their captain for 2 seasons.  He was also a member of the 1961 Stanley Cup-winning team.  Stan was a player who represented the Blackhawks well while he played and became an ambassador after his playing days were over.

So I would say his contributions on the ice, off the ice, and after his career ranks him pretty high on the list.

Bobby Hull

One of the most recognizable players from his era, Bobby was a scoring machine.  At the time most players were playing with sticks without a curve.  Stan and Bobby decided to curve their sticks and noticed that the puck did different things with a curved stick.  

Bobby scored 604 goals during his time with the Blackhawks.  His career lasted from the 57-58 season to the 79-80 season.  He played 15 seasons with the Blackhawks, and 8 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets.  7 of those seasons they were as a member of the WHA until they folded in with the NHL.  1 season with the Hartford Whalers.  If you combine his NHL goals with his WHA goals he had 913 goals!

Bobby unfortunately had many off the ice issues that I won’t dive into here, and it has put a tarnish on a stellar career.  That being said he was always a man of the fans, especially after he became an ambassador of the team.  

Like Stosh, Bobby was also a member of the 1961 Stanley Cup winning Blackahawk team.

Patrick Kane

It goes without saying that Patrick Kane is one of the Best Blackhawks to ever put on a sweater.  A smooth skater and an incredible passer.  Even more impressive was Kane’s vision.  He could see things that were happening and going to happen before they did.  He was drated in 2007 as the #1 pick in the NHL Draft.

Kane made an impression from early on.  In his first season, he played with the #3 draft pick in the previous draft, Jonathan Toews, and it was known, immediately that these guys were going to be the future of the organization.  By his 3rd season in the league, he would score the game-winning goal in the 2010 Stanley Cup finals to give the Blackhawks their first Stanley Cup win since 1961.

That wasn’t it, he scored more goals and more points as the years went on.  Winning 2 more Stanley Cups and a boatload of awards.  He won an Olympic silver medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics and represented the USA whenever he had the chance.

Kane has also been remarkably consistent.  Scoring droughts didn’t last long in the regular season and the playoffs.  He was a player that you could count on to show up every game and make a big impact.  He carried himself on the team as a leader without a letter for a long time.  Always practicing when practices were optional and always trying to get better.

Kaner will always be remembered as a champion and one of the best Blackhawks.

Jonathan Toews

Captain Serious or just the Captain, Jonathan Toews is one of the best Blackhawks of all time.  Drafted in 2006 he played one year in North Dakota before making the jump to the NHL, the same year as Patrick Kane.  In 2008, Toews's second season, it was announced that he would be the next team Captain.  

For the last 15 years he has been the Blackhawks Captain and has led from the front in every way.  

He didn’t get in any trouble off of the ice, worked to get better on it, led the Blackhawks to 3 Stanley Cups, and won Olympic Gold in 2010 and 2014.  

What's most impressive about Toews is his game.  As the team's 1st line center for over a decade, he also played on the 1st pp unit, 1st pk, 1st 3-man pk, and 1st shooter on the shootout, in which he’s scored 52 goals on 110 attempts.  No one with over 100 attempts ranks higher.

Toews also showed up in big games.  He didn’t score all the pretty goals or make the passes that Kane made, but he got on the score sheet when it mattered most.  He played in the corners, in front of the net, and shut down the other team's top line while providing offense of his own.

One of my absolute favorites is this pass to Kaner that put the Kings away in the Western Conference Finals.

Conclusion:

Jonathan Toews is my choice for the best Blackhawk of all time.  He didn’t have the point totals of the aforementioned, but he was a complete player, was the captain of the team for all but 1 year of his career (so far), won 3 Stanley cups, and has only worn a Blackhawks sweater.  

Honorable Mention:

Brent Seabrook

Seabs was a warrior for the Blackhawks.  Out of the 15 seasons he played for the Blackhawks he played 78 or more games 12 times!  Mostly paired with Duncan Keith, the 2 complemented each other nicely.

Keith the smooth-skating offensive defenseman and Seabrook the more defensive-minded of the 2 made sure to tighten things up when Keith would pinch up.

Also a great leader.  He was a more vocal leader in the locker room and someone who showed Toews the ropes when he broke into the league.

Seabrook also showed up and played big minutes in big games.  Ever reliable and ready to play against the toughest competition or score big goals when we needed them.

This is my list.  I’d love to hear what you, the reader has to say about who you think the all-time best Blackhawk is!  Listen below to my latest podcast as my partner and I get a bit more in-depth