This was a very eventful week in Chicago Blackhawks franchise history. In addition to a whole slew of birthdays, there were trades of popular players, records set, and multiple personal milestones reached. It is time for our weekly trip on the CHGO time machine. So, let’s strap in and enjoy the ride through the decades.
Oct. 27
1885 – Hugh Lehman was born in Pembroke, ON. The Hall of Fame goaltender was a star in western Canada before the NHL was formed. He was the starting netminder for the Blackhawks’ debut, a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 17, 1926. All 48 of his NHL games came with the Blackhawks. He went 20-24-4 with a 2.68 goals-against average (GAA) and six shutouts. “Old Eagle Eyes” is believed to be the first goaltender to perfect the art of passing the puck forward to his teammates.
1966 – Brad Lauer was born in Humboldt, SK. The Blackhawks acquired the left wing from the New York Islanders with Brent Sutter for Adam Creighton and Steve Thomas. Lauer played just 13 games in Chicago over two seasons and picked up one assist. His most successful professional season came with the Indianapolis Ice, the Blackhawks’ IHL affiliate, in 1992-92, when he had 50 goals and 91 points in 62 games. He signed with Ottawa Senators in 1994.
1978 – Sergei Samsonov was born in Moscow, USSR. The Boston Bruins selected the left wing with the seventh overall pick of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He won the 1998 Calder Trophy after scoring 22 goals and 47 points in his rookie season. On June 16, 2007, Samsonov was traded to the Blackhawks by the Montreal Canadiens for Jassen Cullimore and Tony Salmelainen. He had four assists in 23 games for the Blackhawks before he was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 8, 2008.
1992 – Brandon Saad was born in Pittsburgh, PA. The Blackhawks drafted him in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He had 52 goals and 126 points in his first stint with the team, including Stanley Cup wins in 2013 and 2015. On June 30, 2015, he was traded with Alex Broadhurst and Michael Paliotta to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Artem Anisimov, Marko Daňo, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp, and a fourth-round pick. Saad returned to Chicago on June 23, 2017, with Anton Forsberg and a fifth-round pick in the trade that sent Aremti Panarin and Tyler Motte to Columbus. Over the next three seasons, he had 62 goals and 115 points in 220 games. On Oct. 10, 2020, he was traded with Dennis Gilbert to the Colorado Avalanche for Anton Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov.
1999 – Tony Amonte scored his 250th NHL goal in the Blackhawks’ 1-0 victory at the Canadiens. Goaltender Jocelyn Thibault recorded his 13th career shutout and second straight against his former team.
Oct. 28
1963 – Gary Nylund was born in Surrey, BC. He was the third overall pick of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft by the Maple Leafs. The defenseman signed with the Blackhawks in 1985. He had 14 goals and 51 points in his 179 games for Chicago. On Nov. 25, 1988, Nylund was traded with Marc Bergevin to the Islanders for Bob Bassen and Steve Konroyd.
1978 – Bobby Orr scored the 270th and final goal of his NHL career during the Blackhawks’ 7-2 loss at the Detroit Red Wings. The tally came in one of the six games he played for Chicago during the 1978-79 season. Multiple knee injuries forced the legendary blueliner to retire at 30 years old on Nov. 8, 1978.
Oct. 29
1911 – Pat Shea was born in Potlatch, ID. The defenseman played 10 games for the Blackhawks during the 1931-32 season and picked up one assist.
1913 – Al Suomi was born in Eveleth, MN. The left wing had no points in his five career NHL games for the Blackhawks during the 1936-37 season. It is believed that Suomi was the first former NHL player to turn 100 when he joined the century club in 2013.
1963 – Glenn Hall became the seventh goaltender in NHL history to win 250 games by leading the Blackhawks to a 5-1 victory over the Red Wings. Kenny Wharram led the scoring with his first career hat trick.
1999 – Doug Gilmour scored the 400th goal of his career in the Blackhawks’ 4-2 victory at the Red Wings.
2002 – Thibault became the 54th goaltender in NHL history to win 200 career games in a 3-2 Blackhawks win over the Blue Jackets. Tyler Arnason scored the game-winning goal with 6.2 seconds remaining in the third period.
Oct. 30
1924 – Cal Gardner was born in Transcona, MB. After winning two Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs, he was traded to the Blackhawks on September 11, 1952, with Ray Hannigan, Gus Mortson, and Al Rollins for Harry Lumley. The center had 11 goals and 35 points in 70 games before he was traded to the Bruins for cash the following offseason.
1950 – Len Frig was born in Lethbridge, AB. The Blackhawks selected the defenseman in the third round (42nd overall) of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. He scored 14 points in his lone season with the team. On May 24, 1974, he was traded with Mike Christie to the California Golden Seals for Ivan Boldirev.
1962 – Hall played in his 500th consecutive regular-season game, a 5-3 victory by the Blackhawks against the visiting New York Rangers at Chicago Stadium.
1988 – Doug Wilson and Dirk Graham each scored shorthanded goals 24 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Blackhawks to a 5-2 win at the Edmonton Oilers.
1991 – Artemi Panarin was born in Korkino, USSR. The Blackhawks signed the dynamic left wing out of Russia on May 1, 2015. He won the 2016 Calder Trophy after 30 goals and 77 points in his first NHL season. He followed that up with 31 goals and 74 points during the 2016-17 season. He was then part of the trade mentioned earlier to reacquire Saad.
1996 – Dennis Gilbert was born in Buffalo, NY. The Blackhawks selected the defenseman in the third round (91st overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry. He had a goal and three points in 22 NHL games before he was traded with Saad to Colorado in 2020. He played just three games for the Avalanche in his two years with the organization. He signed with the Calgary Flames this past offseason.
2014 – Marian Hossa became the 80th player in NHL history to score 1,000 points in his career. He hit the milestone with a third-period goal during a 5-4 shootout victory against the Ottawa Senators, the team that originally selected him in the first round (12th overall) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. His 1,000th point came in his 1,100th game.
Oct. 31
1933 – Eric Nesterenko was born in Flin Flon, MB. The Blackhawks acquired him and Harry Lumley from the Maple Leafs for cash on May 21, 1956. The right wing spent the next 16 seasons in Chicago, scoring 207 goals and 495 points in 1,013 games. He was part of the 1961 Stanley Cup-winning team. Nesterenko was best known for his speed and penalty-killing ability. When he retired in 1972, he coached in Switzerland. He returned for one final season as player with the Chicago Cougars of the World Hockey Association a year later. Movie buffs will remember Nesterenko for playing Rob Lowe’s father in the hockey movie Youngblood.
1945 – In his first game after two years of military service, George “Wingy” Johnston scored two goals to lead the Blackhawks to a 5-1 win over the Rangers. A total of 18,877 fans crammed into Chicago Stadium for the largest weeknight crowd in NHL history.
1987 – Troy Murray and Denis Savard set a team record when they scored two shorthanded goals 12 seconds apart, early in the third period of a 6-5 loss at the Maple Leafs.
1991 – Steve Larmer lit the lamp twice to become the fourth player in Blackhawks history to score 350 goals. The milestone came in a 4-3 win over the visiting Islanders.
2007 – Rookie center Jonathan Toews scored a goal in a 5-4 road win against the Dallas Stars to give him one point in each of his first 10 NHL games. It’s still the third-longest such streak in NHL history.
Nov. 1
1932 – Al Arbour was born in Sudbury, ON. Before becoming one of the winningest coaches in league history, he played 14 seasons as a defenseman. The Blackhawks claimed him from the Red Wings at the 1958 Intra-League Draft. Arbour had six goals and 23 points in 180 games in Chicago and was part of the 1961 championship. He was claimed by the Maple Leafs in the Intra-League Draft the following offseason, where he won two more Stanley Cups.
1975 – Billy Reay became the second man to coach 1,000 NHL games in a 3-1 road victory at the Red Wings.
1990 – A pair of Blackhawks hit personal milestones in their 6-2 win over the Quebec Nordiques. Steve Larmer scored two goals to reach 700 NHL points. Jeremey Roenick hit 100 points in his young career with a goal and two assists.
Nov. 2
1906 – Paul Thompson was born in Calgary, AB. The left wing was traded to the Blackhawks by the Rangers for Vic Desjardins and Art Somers on Sept. 27, 1931. He had 118 goals and 264 points over the next eight seasons and was part of the franchise’s first two Stanley Cup wins in 1934 and 1938.
1921 – Bill Mosienko was born in Winnipeg, MB. He spent his entire Hall of Fame career with the Blackhawks, scoring 258 goals and 540 points in 711 games. He won the Lady Bing Trophy in 1945 for being the league’s “most gentlemanly” player. Mosienko still holds the NHL record for the fastest hat trick when he scored three goals in 21 seconds versus the Rangers on March 23, 1952.
1922 – Doug Baldwin was born in Winnipeg, MB. The defenseman was acquired from the Red Wings for cash in 1947. He had no points in five games during the 1947-48 season.
1928 – John Michaluk was born in Canmore, AB. The left wing played in one career NHL game for the Blackhawks during the 1950-51 season.
1947 – In a big blockbuster deal, the Blackhawks traded forwards Max Bentley and Cy Thomas to the Maple Leafs in exchange for forwards Gus Bodnar, Bud Poile, Gaye Stewart, and defensemen Bob Goldham and Ernie Dickens. Bentley was the NHL’s leading scorer in the two previous seasons. He scored 122 goals and 256 points and won three Stanley Cups in Toronto over the next six seasons.
1993 – The Blackhawks traded Larmer and defenseman Bryan Marchment to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for blueliner Eric Weinrich and center Patrick Poulin. Larmer was then traded along with winger Nick Kypreos, defenseman Barry Richter and a sixth-round draft pick to the Rangers for center Darren Turcotte and defenseman James Patrick.
2014 – Michael Frolik of the Winnipeg Jets scored the game’s only goal 20 seconds after the opening face-off against his former team at United Center. He set an NHL record for the earliest goal scored in a 1-0 game.
