If you’re a fan of goaltending, then this week’s Chicago Blackhawks history lesson will be right up your alley. Some of the greatest netminders to ever wear the uniform hit major milestones this week. Plus, one of the superstars of the current era had himself a memorable few days too. So, let’s fire up the CHGO time machine and take a trip back through the years to relive all the best moments.

Jan. 26

1925 – Vic Lynn was born in Saskatoon, SK. The Blackhawks acquired from the Cleveland Barons of the AHL for Fred Glover on Jan. 4, 1953. He had a goal and 11 points in 40 games over two seasons in Chicago.

1931 – Glen Skov was born in Wheatley, ON. After winning three Stanley Cups, the Detroit Red Wings traded him to Chicago on May 27, 1955, as part of an eight-player trade. He spent the next five seasons with the Blackhawks and scored 44 goals and 119 points. On June 7, 1960, he was part of another eight-player trade, this time with the Montreal Canadiens.

1963 – Glenn Hall became the 13th goaltender in NHL history to record 50 career shutouts by leading the Blackhawks to a 3-0 win at the Red Wings.

1967 – Stan Mikita scored his 200^th career goal in a 4-3 victory over Detroit.

1978 – A severe blizzard hit the Chicagoland area, but 527 dedicated fans made the trek to the Chicago Stadium to watch the Blackhawks take on the NHL version of the Cleveland Barons. They were rewarded with a 5-0 win and Tony Esposito’s 62^nd career shutout.

1991 – Doug Wilson scored the only hat trick of his NHL career in a 5-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He became just the second defenseman in franchise history to score three goals in a game, joining Dick Redmond, who scored his hat trick versus the Colorado Rockies on Feb. 12, 1977.

2001 – Steve Sullivan set a new franchise record for the fastest two shorthanded goals by one player when he scored twice in 51 seconds during a Blackhawks 5-2 loss at the Colorado Avalanche. The goals were sweet revenge for Sullivan, who was heckled by a fan in the front row after taking an errant high stick to the face. Later that period, karma was served when that fan took a puck off the head, something Sullivan got great joy from.

1995 – Michel Goulet announced his retirement. He scored 548 goals and 1,153 points during his 15-season Hall of Fame career with the Quebec Nordiques and Chicago Blackhawks.

1996 – Blake Hillman was born in Elk River, MN. The Blackhawks drafted the defenseman in the sixth round (173^rd overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He appeared in four games during the 2017-18 season and scored one shorthanded goal. Since then, he has bounced between the ECHL and AHL and is currently playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers.

Jan. 27

1960 – Hall appeared in his 329th consecutive game, breaking the record set by Montreal’s Georges Vezina. He gave his all that night, but the Blackhawks fell short in a 2-1 loss to the Maple Leafs.

1963 – During a game at the Chicago Stadium between the Blackhawks and Canadiens, Montreal Hall of Fame goaltender Jacques Plante asked for a timeout so the officials could measure the height of the nets being used. They turned out to be three feet and 10 inches tall, two inches shorter than the regulation of four feet.

1/2 Sixty years ago this January 27 in 1963, ref Eddie Powers measures Chicago Stadium nets following claim by #GoHabsGo goaler Jacques Plante that crossbar is welded inside top of posts instead of atop them, as he says it is in New York and Boston, too. … pic.twitter.com/uMTOSxatEk

— Dave Stubbs 🇨🇦 (@Dave_Stubbs) January 27, 2023

1967 – Dave Manson was born in Prince Albert, SK. The Blackhawks selected the rugged blueliner in the first round (11^th) of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He played 330 games in his first stint with the team, scoring 39 goals and 127 points while racking up 1,175 penalty minutes. On Oct. 2, 1991, he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers with a third-round pick for fellow defenseman Steve Smith. Manson returned to Chicago on Nov. 16, 1988, as part of the trade with the Canadiens that landed goaltender Jocelyn Thibault. He had six goals and 28 points in 101 games before he was dealt to the Dallas Stars with Sylvain Cote for Kevin Dean, Derek Plante, and a second-round pick on Feb. 8, 2000. Dean and Plante are now both assistant coaches under Luke Richardson. In all, Manson played 1,103 NHL games for seven teams before retiring in 2002.

1992 – Brent Sutter scored his 300th career goal in a 4-3 overtime win at the Calgary Flames. Steve Larmer and Jeremy Roenick had the other regulation goals before Mike Hudson won the game in overtime.

1994 – Goulet scored a goal and picked up his 600th career assist during a 4-3 overtime loss to the Red Wings. His milestone helper came on Joe Murphy’s third-period tally.

Jan. 28

1905 – Marty Burke was born in Toronto, ON. The two-time Stanley Cup-winning defenseman was acquired from the Canadiens with Lorne Chabot and Howie Morenz for Lionel Conacher, Leroy Goldsworthy, and Roger Jenkins on Oct. 3, 1934. He had three goals and 11 points in 150 games before he was traded back to Montreal for Bill MacKenzie on Dec. 10, 1937. Burke might be the first player in NHL history to wear a helmet, as he put one on to protect an injured ear during the 1928-29 season with the Habs.

1943 – Max Bentley set a Blackhawks’ team record with seven points. His four goals and three assists led the way to a 10-1 blowout win over the Rangers. All four goals were scored in the third period and set up by his brother Doug. 

1946 – Paul Shmyr was born in Cudworth, SK. The defenseman was acquired from the Rangers on Aug. 17, 1967. He played the first 84 games of his NHL career with the Blackhawks, scoring two goals and 18 points. On Oct. 18, 1971, Shmyr was traded with Gilles Meloche to the California Golden Seals for Gerry Desjardins. He later became a star in the World Hockey Association (WHA), winning the Dennis A. Murphy Trophy as the top defenseman in 1976.

1959 – Ted Lindsay scored his 350th career goal in a 3-1 victory over the Rangers.

1962 – Hall earned his 200th career victory and 43rd career shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Rangers in New York. Bobby Hull was the offensive hero with a pair of goals.

1968 – Sean Williams was born in Oshawa, ON. He was a 12th-round pick (245^th overall) of the Blackhawks in 1986. He played two games during the 1991-92 season and did not find the scoresheet.

1985 – Colin Fraser was born in Sicamous, BC. He was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers with Jim Vandermeer and a second-round pick for Alex Zhamnov on Feb. 19, 2004. That pick was used to draft Bryan Bickell. Both Fraser and Bickell were members of the 2010 Stanley Cup team. Fraser had 13 goals and 36 points in 157 games over four seasons. Days after the 2010 championship celebration, he was traded to the Oilers for a sixth-round pick used to take Mirko Hoefflin, who never played in the NHL. He eventually ended up with the Los Angeles Kings, where he won two more Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. Fraser is back in the Blackhawks organization, serving as an amateur scout.

1985 – Daniel Carcillo was born in King City, ON. The controversial forward signed with the Blackhawks on July 1, 2011. He had four goals and 14 points in 51 games over two seasons and was part of the 2013 Stanley Cup victory before he signed with the Kings. Carcillo returned to Chicago for one final run and had four goals and eight points during the 2014-15 season but did not appear during the playoffs, which ended with another championship parade.

1991 – Rookie goaltender Ed Belfour recorded his third career shutout as the Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks 1-0.

1995 – Carl Dahlstrom was born in Stockholm, Sweden. The Blackhawks drafted the defender in the second round (51^st overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He had nine assists for the Blackhawks in 49 games over two seasons. On Oct. 1, 2019, the Winnipeg Jets claimed Dahlstrom off waivers.

2012 – Patrick Kane participated in the Breakaway Challenge as part of the NHL All-Star SuperSkills Competition in Ottawa. Kane won the event with his Superman goal, as he recruited his teammate Marian Hossa to transform from Clark Kent into the Man of Steel.

Jan. 29

1911 – Lou Holmes was born in Rushall, England. The forward played 59 games for the Blackhawks between 1931 and 1933 and scored two goals and six points. His son Chuck played 23 games for the Red Wings in the 1950s.

1958 – Glen Cochrane was born in Cranbrook, BC. The Blackhawks claimed the defenseman from the Vancouver Canucks in the 1987 Waiver Draft. He had a goal and nine points in 79 games before he was claimed off waivers by the Oilers on Nov. 7, 1988.

1973 – Steve Passmore was born in Thunder Bay, ON. The Blackhawks signed the free-agent goaltender on July 8, 1999. He appeared in 73 games over five seasons and went 19-32-10 with a 2.74 goals-against average (GAA), .897 save percentage (SV%), and one shutout. During those five years, he was traded to the Kings and back again to Chicago but never appeared in a game for Los Angeles.

1995 – Roenick scored two goals and added an assist in a 6-3 win at the Kings to give him 500 career points in 430 NHL games.

Jan. 30

1906 – Ted Graham was born in Owen Sound, ON. The blueliner played the first 183 games of his NHL career with the Blackhawks. He had five goals and 25 points over five seasons. On Oct. 1, 1933, he was traded to the Montreal Maroons for Conacher.

1917 – Sam LoPresti was born in Eveleth, MN. The netminder spent the 1940-41 and 1941-42 seasons with the Blackhawks, his only two in the NHL. He appeared in 74 games and went 30-38-6 with a 3.12 GAA and four shutouts. On March 4, 1941, he faced an NHL-record 83 shots and incredibly only lost 3-2 to the Boston Bruins.

1952 – Brian Ogilvie was born in Stettler, AB. The Blackhawks drafted the center in the second round (29^th overall) of the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft. He had a goal and two assists in 12 games during the 1972-73 season before being claimed by the St. Louis Blues in the 1974 Intra-League Draft.

1972 – Chris Simon was born in Wawa, ON. He was traded to Chicago by the Washington Capitals with Andrei Nikolishin for Michael Nylander and a third-round pick on Nov. 1, 2002. The rugged forward had 12 goals and 18 points in 61 games with the Blackhawks before signing with the Rangers the following offseason.

1969 – The Blackhawks had their biggest shutout win in franchise history when they beat the 12-0 of the Flyers at the Spectrum. Dennis Hull led the offensive attack with two goals and three assists, with Jim Pappin scoring his second career hat trick. Netminder Denis DeJordy earned the 13th shutout of his career.

1977 – Esposito became the second goaltender in franchise history to record 250 wins by beating the visiting Barons 9-3.

2004 – The Blackhawks ended their franchise-record road losing streak of 19 straight games. Rookie Tuomo Ruutu scored a pair of goals in a 5-3 win over the Flames in Calgary.

Jan. 31

1933 – Camille Henry was born in Quebec City, QC. The center spent 12 years as a star for the Rangers before he was acquired with Wally Chevrier, Don Johns, and Billy Taylor for John Brenneman, Wayne Hillman, and Doug Robinson. Henry played 22 games for the Blackhawks, scoring five goals and eight points. He was sent back to New York in the 1967 trade that brought Shmyr to Chicago.

1934 – Bob Turner was born in Regina, SK. After winning five straight Stanley Cups with Montreal, the Canadiens to the Blackhawks for Fred Hilts in 1961. The defenseman had 11 goals and 16 points in 139 games for the Blackhawks. On Aug. 6, 1964, Turner was traded to the Los Angeles Blades of the WHL for cash.

1963 – Bobby Hull and Mikita both had hat tricks in a 9-2 win over the Bruins. Hull had two assists to go with his eighth career hat trick. This was the first three-goal game of Mikita’s career.

1970 –  Esposito recorded the 11th shutout of his rookie season, leading the Blackhawks to a 5-0 win at the Flyers. He finished the 1969-70 season with 15 shutouts, which is still the NHL record for rookies.

1987 – Brandon Bollig was born in St. Charles, MO. He had seven goals and 14 points in 125 games over three seasons and was part of the 2013 Stanley Cup championship. On June 28, 2014, he was traded to the Flames for a third-round pick used to select Matt Iacopelli.

2016 – Nashville played host to the NHL All-Star Game for the first time. This was also the first time the league adopted the 3v3 tournament format. This weekend is best remembered for ex-Blackhawk John Scott winning the fan vote and the league trying their best to prevent him from playing in the game. Not only did he play for the Pacific Division, but he also won MVP honors after scoring a pair of goals. In a playful moment against the Central Division, he dropped the gloves for a “fight” with his former teammate Kane.

Feb. 1

1912 – Charley Mason was born in Seaforth, ON. The Red Wings traded him to Chicago for Phil Besler on Jan. 27, 1939. The right wing had a goal and four points in 13 games before the Blackhawks traded him with cash and Harold Jackson to the Barons for Phil Hergesheimer on May 17, 1939.

1970 – Mikita scored two goals, and three added assists in a 7-4 win over the Minnesota North Stars. Jim Pappin chipped in with the third hat trick of his career.

1972 – Ivan Droppa was born in Liptovsky Mikulas, Czechoslovakia. The Blackhawks selected the blueliner in the second round (37^th overall) of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He had one assist in 19 games over two seasons. On Dec. 18, 1996, he was traded to the Florida Panthers for Alain Nasreddine. Droppa never played in the NHL again, but his professional career in Europe lasted until 2009.

1987 – Curt Fraser scored a goal and added four assists to lead the Blackhawks to a 6-4 win over the Oilers.

1990 – The Blackhawks set a team record with five goals within a span of 5:38 of the second period to pick up a 7-4 road win at the Kings. Duane Sutter, Dirk Graham, Wilson, Hudson, and Jocelyn Lemieux scored between the 2:12 and 7:50 marks of the middle frame. Hall of Fame defenseman made history with two assists for Los Angeles. This gave him 917 career points, moving ahead of the legendary Bobby Orr for the second-most points scored by a defenseman in NHL history.

1994 – Belfour recorded his 24th career shutout to become the third goaltender in Blackhawks’ franchise history to win 150 games in a 7-0 thrashing of Edmonton. Roenick led the offensive attack with four assists.

2019 – Kane became the fifth-fastest U.S.-born player to score 900 career points when he scored two goals and added two assists in the Blackhawks’ 7-3 win in his hometown of Buffalo. He needed just 873 games to reach this milestone. He also became the youngest American to score 900 points, beating Roenick by 230 days.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks