This Week in Chicago Blackhawks History: Hull, Esposito & more

The Chicago Blackhawks are off to a much better start than anticipated and are on a two-game winning streak. While we wring our hands about whether this team is too good to land Connor Bedard or not, we will take a quick break to look back at some of the success from the long-storied history of this franchise.

Oct. 20

1911 – Benjamin LaPairie was born in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. The defenseman played seven games for the Blackhawks during the 1936-37 season and did not find the scoresheet.

1936 – Gerry Goyer was born in Belleville, ON. The Blackhawks acquired him for cash from the Portland Buckaroos of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1967. He had a goal and three points in 40 games before being traded back to the Buckaroos the following offseason.

1946 – J.P. LeBlanc was born in South Durham, QC. He had a goal and three points in six games during the 1968-69 season. He jumped to the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972. In 1975, the Blackhawks traded his rights to the Detroit Red Wings for a second-round draft pick in 1977. The Blackhawks used that pick to take Jean Savard, who played 42 games for the team.

Oct. 21

1943 – Larry Mickey was born in Lacombe, AB. The right wing played one game for the Blackhawks in 1965 before New York Rangers claimed him in the NHL Inter-League Draft.

2000 – The Blackhawks played their 5,000^th game in franchise history; a 1-0 loss at the St. Louis Blues. Scott Young beat Robbie Tallas late in the second period for the game’s only tally.

2018 – The Tampa Bay Lightning set an NHL record with 33 shots on goal during the second period of a 6-3 win over the Blackhawks at United Center. It was the most shots on goal in one period since 1965-66, when the NHL first listed shots by period. The Lightning finished the game with 55 shots on goal, their highest single-game total since entering the NHL in 1992.

Oct. 22

1954 – Ron Sedlbauer was born in Burlington, ON. The Blackhawks acquired the left wing on Dec. 21, 1979, from the Vancouver Canucks for Dave Logan and Harold Phillipoff. Sedlbauer had 25 goals and 38 points in 84 games over two seasons. On Feb. 18, 1981, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for cash.

1957 – Bobby Hull scored his first career NHL goal to help the Blackhawks defeat the Boston Bruins 2-1 at Chicago Stadium. The future Hall of Famer beat goaltender Don Simmons at 16:00 of the first period for an unassisted goal. Hull is still the franchise leader with 604 goals.

1968 – Stephane Quintal was born in Boucherville, QC. He was originally a first-round pick (14^th overall) by the Bruins in 1987. The Blackhawks claimed the defenseman off waivers from the Rangers on Oct. 5, 2000. He had a goal and 19 points in 72 games during the 2000-01 season. On June 23, 2001, he was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens for a fourth-round pick, used to take Brent MacLellan, who never played for the Blackhawks. Following his playing career, Quintal spent two years as the NHL’s senior vice president of player safety from 2014 to 2016.

1998 – Doug Gilmour picked up his 800th career assist during the Blackhawks’ 2-2 tie with the visiting San Jose Sharks.

Oct. 23

1920 – Goaltender Jim Henry was born in Winnipeg, MB. The Rangers traded him to the Blackhawks on Oct. 7, 1948, for Emile Francis and Alex Kaleta. He appeared in 60 games during the 1948-49 season and posted a 21-31-8 record and a 3.52 goals-against average (GAA). In the summer of 1950, he was part of a nine-player trade between the Blackhawks and Red Wings.

1930 – Larry Wilson was born in Kincardine, ON. The Red Wings traded him to Chicago on Aug. 12, 1953, with Lou Jankowski and Larry Zeidel for cash. He played 131 games for the Blackhawks and scored 32 goals and 65 points.

1965 – Hull scored three goals for an opening-night hat trick in the Blackhawks’ 4-0 win at the Maple Leafs. It was the start of a record-setting 54-goal season for the Golden Jet, the first player in NHL history to score more than 50 goals in a season.

1974 – The Blackhawks were awarded two penalty shots against the Washington Capitals. Unfortunately, both Jim Pappin and Stan Mikita were stopped by goaltender Michel Belhumeur, but the Blackhawks still won 3-2.

1999 – The Blackhawks claimed forward Steve Sullivan off waivers from the Maple Leafs. He spent five seasons in Chicago and scored 118 goals and 303 points in 370 games. On Feb. 16, 2004, he was traded to the Nashville Predators for a pair of second-round picks that turned into Ryan Garlock and Michael Blunden.

Oct. 24

1964 – Ray LeBlanc was born in Fitchburg, MA. The goaltender signed as a free agent in 1989. He played one career NHL game on March 10, 1992, and made 21 saves in a 5-1 win over the Sharks. LeBlanc played professionally until 2000, including four seasons with the Chicago Wolves.

1974 – Jamal Mayers was born in Toronto, ON. The rugged right wing signed with the Blackhawks on July 1, 2011. He played the final 100 games of his 15-season career in Chicago and scored six goals and 17 points.

1976 – Bobby Orr became the first defenseman in NHL history to reach 900 career points when he scored two goals in the Blackhawks’ 7-2 win over the Blues. He scored just once more before missing the rest of the season and all of 1977-78 with knee injuries.

Oct. 25

1960 – Ed Litzenberger scored a pair of goals and added two assists to lead the Blackhawks to an 8-4 win over the Canadiens.

1964 – Hull scored his 12th career hat trick as the Blackhawks beat the Rangers 5-2 at Chicago Stadium.

1966 – Wendel Clark was born in Kelvington, SK. He signed with the Blackhawks on Aug. 2, 1999. The veteran winger had two goals in 13 games before being released on Jan. 14, 2000.

1969 – Tony Esposito won his first game against his former team, the Canadiens, after being claimed by the Blackhawks in the 1969 NHL Inter-league Draft. Esposito made 30 saves in a 5-0 victory at the Forum. It was the first of his 15 shutouts in 1969-70, still the NHL single-season record for rookie goalies.

1970 – Esposito recorded his second shutout in two nights (and the 19th of his NHL career) to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-0 road victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

1974 – Chris Murray was born in Port Hardy, BC. The Blackhawks acquired the right wing from the Ottawa Senators on March 23, 1999, for Nelson Emerson. He had no points in the four games he played in Chicago before he was claimed off waivers by the Dallas Stars.

1975 – Esposito earned his 54th career shutout in the Blackhawks’ 4-0 win at the Kansas City Scouts. Pit Martin scored the 250th goal of his NHL career to help in the victory.

1990 – Steve Larmer set a team record for the fastest regular-season overtime goal – eight seconds into extra time – in a 3-2 win over the Capitals.

1991 – The New York Islanders traded Brent Sutter and Brad Lauer to the Blackhawks for Adam Creighton and Steve Thomas. Sutter played 417 games in Chicago over the next seven seasons and scored 76 goals and 219 points in 417 games.

Oct. 26

1950 – Walt Ledingham was born in Weyburn, SK. The left wing was a fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 1970. He had an assist in nine games during the 1972-73 season before he was traded to the Islanders for Germain Gagnon on May 24, 1974.

1992 – Adam Clendening was born in Niagara Falls, NY. The Blackhawks selected the defenseman in the second round (36^th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He had a goal and an assist in four games during the 2014-15 season. On Jan. 29, 2015, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Gustav Forsling. He returned to the organization on Jan. 10, 2018, when the Arizona Coyotes traded him and Anthony Duclair to the Blackhawks for Laurent Dauphin and Richard Panik. After spending the rest of the season with the Rockford IceHogs, he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He is back for a third stint with the franchise and is currently serving as an alternate captain for the IceHogs.