This is an eventful week in Chicago Blackhawks history. They won their first two Stanley Cup championships, while one of their greatest defensemen hit multiple personal milestones. The CHGO time machine is gassed up and ready to take you back through the decades to relive all these moments, so let’s hop on the ride.
April 6
1924 – Doug Stevenson was born in Regina, SK. The goaltender was signed as a free agent in 1942. He appeared in four games over two seasons and went 2-2-0 with a 4.75 goals-against average (GAA).
1949 – Darryl Maggs was born in Victoria, BC. The Blackhawks drafted the defenseman in the fourth round (48th overall) of the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft. He had seven goals and 11 points in 76 games over two seasons before being traded to the California Golden Seals for Dick Redmond and Bobby Sheehan on Dec. 5, 1972.
1961 – Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita made their Stanley Cup Final debuts as the Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Hull scored two goals, and Mikita picked up two assists in a 3-2 series-opening win.
1965 – Gerald Diduck was born in Edmonton, AB. The blueliner was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks for Bogdan Savenko and a third-round pick on April 7, 1995. He had one goal in 13 games before signing with the Hartford Whalers the following offseason.
1975 – The Blackhawks won their 1,200th game in franchise history as Tony Esposito shut out the Minnesota North Stars 3-0 at Chicago Stadium. The victory was the 500th in the career of head coach Billy Reay, who became just the third NHL coach to reach the 500-win milestone.
1977 – Ville Nieminen was born in Tampere, Finland. The left wing signed with the Blackhawks on July 29, 2003. He had two goals and 13 points in 60 games for the Blackhawks before he was traded to the Calgary Flames for Jason Morgan and a sixth-round pick used on Joseph Fallon.
1982 – Travis Moen was born in Stewart Valley, SK. He signed with the Blackhawks on Oct. 21, 2002. He played all 82 games of the 2003-04 season, scoring four goals and six points. On July 30, 2005, he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for Michael Holmqvist.
1991 – Jeremy Roenick scored a goal and added three assists as the Blackhawks beat the visiting North Stars 5-2 in Game 2 of the Norris Division Semifinals.
1993 – Michael Paliotta was born in Westport, CT. The Blackhawks drafted the defenseman in the third round (70th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He had an assist in his lone game with the Blackhawks during the 2014-15 season. Paliotta was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets with Brandon Saad and Alex Broadhurst for Artem Anisimov, Marko Daňo, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp, and a fourth-round pick on June 30, 2015.
1999 – Cole Guttman was born in Northridge, CA. He signed with the Blackhawks before the 2022-23 season after being drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round (180th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 15, 2023. He had four goals and six points in 14 games before shoulder surgery shut his season down.
2021 – Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars. This gave him 50 points for the 14th time in his career, tying him with Bobby Hull for the second-most in franchise history. Stan Mikita still holds the record with 18 50-point seasons.
April 7
1970 – Alexander Karpovtsev was born in Moscow, USSR. The veteran defenseman was acquired from the Maple Leafs for Bryan McCabe and a fourth-round pick on Oct. 2, 2000. He had seven goals and 46 points in 182 games. On March 9, 2004, he was traded to the New York Islanders for a fourth-round pick that turned into Niklas Hjalmarsson. After his playing career ended, Karpovtsev became an assistant coach for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL. On Sept. 7, 2011, he was one of 44 people killed when the team plane crashed shortly after takeoff.
1977 – Craig MacDonald was born in Antigonish, NS. The left wing signed with the Blackhawks on Aug. 1, 2006. He played 25 games during his lone season in Chicago and scored three goals and five points before signing with the Flames.
1980 – Matt Walker was born in Beaverlodge, AB. The Blackhawks signed the blueliner on July 7, 2008. He appeared in 65 games during the 2008-09 seasons and had a goal and 14 points before signing with the Lightning the following summer.
2002 – Brian Sutter became the 15th coach in NHL history to earn 400 career victories with the Blackhawks’ 3-2 win against the visiting Flames.
April 8
1961 – “Mr. Hockey” Gordie Howe had two assists in the Red Wings’ 2-1 win over the Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. This gave him 61 career playoff assists, setting a new NHL record.
1991 – Chris Chelios scored a goal and added three assists as the Blackhawks beat the North Stars 6-5 in Game 3 of the Norris Division Semifinals.
April 9
1931 – Cy Wentworth scored at 13:50 of the third overtime to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 win in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. This remained the longest game in Stanley Cup Final history until the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins played 55:13 of overtime in the opening game of the 1990 Final.
1937 – Wayne Hicks was born in Aberdeen, WA. He played one scoreless game for the Blackhawks during the 1960-61 season. On May 30, 1962, he was traded to the Canadiens for Al MacNeil.
1972 – Pit Martin scored the fastest overtime goal in Stanley Cup Playoff history when he lit the lamp 12 seconds into extra time to complete a four-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Hull scored the final postseason hat trick of his career to lead the way in a 6-5 victory.
1981 – Milan Bartovic was born in Trencin, Czechoslovakia. The Buffalo Sabres traded the right wing to the Blackhawks for goaltender Michael Leighton on Oct. 4, 2005. He had a goal and seven points in 24 games during the 2005-06 season before heading to Europe, where he played professionally until 2013.
1983 – Al Secord set a franchise playoff record by racking up 37 penalty minutes during a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. He earned a minor, major, misconduct, and two game misconduct penalties, with 35 minutes coming in one period.
April 10
1933 – Ron Murphy was born in Hamilton, ON. He was acquired from the New York Rangers before the 1957-58 season. The left wing played 459 games over seven seasons for the Blackhawks, scoring 105 goals and 232 points. He had two goals during the 1961 postseason run to the Stanley Cup. On June 9, 1964, Murphy was traded to the Red Wings as part of a four-team trade, including the Rangers and Maple Leafs.
1934 – The Blackhawks beat the Red Wings 1-0 to win their first Stanley Cup in team history when Mush Marsh scored in the second overtime. Hall of Fame goaltender Charlie Gardiner played in his final NHL game as he died of a brain hemorrhage the following June.
1968 – Rob Brown was born in Kingston, ON. The Blackhawks acquired the right wing from the Hartford Whalers for defenseman Steve Konroyd on Jan. 24, 1992. He played 40 games over two seasons, scoring six goals and 23 points before signing with the Stars in 1993. Brown played the final three seasons of this professional career with the Chicago Wolves.
1970 – Enrico Ciccone was born in Montreal, QC. The defenseman was acquired with a second-round pick from the Lightning for Patrick Poulin, Igor Ulanov, and a second-round pick on March 20, 1996. He had three goals, five points, and 281 penalty minutes in 78 games before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for Ryan Risodore and a fifth-round pick on July 25, 1997. After his playing career, Ciccone entered the world of politics and currently represents Marquette for the Quebec Liberal Party, winning an election in 2018.
1993 – Chelios set a new team record for defensemen with his 55th assist of the season during a 4-2 win over the Lightning. He broke the single-season mark held by Doug Wilson. Chelios finished the season with 58 assists, a mark he matched in 1995-96, and is still the team record.
2011: The Blackhawks nearly became the fourth defending Stanley Cup champion to miss the playoffs the following season. They concluded the regular season with a 4-3 loss to the Red Wings and needed to sweat out the outcome at the Xcel Energy Center. Thankfully, the Minnesota Wild beat the Stars 5-3 to clinch the final playoff spot for the Blackhawks/
April 11
1983 – Matt Keith, no relation to Duncan, was born in Edmonton, AB. He was taken in the second round (59th overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. The right wing played 24 games for the Blackhawks over three seasons, scoring two goals and five points. On Dec. 28, 2006, Keith was traded with Sébastien Caron and Chris Durno to the Ducks for P.A. Parenteau and Bruno St. Jacques.
1993 – Chelios collected his 500th career point with an assist during a tie with the Lightning. This was one of three milestones reached on this night as Dirk Graham scored his 200th career goal, while Dave Christian played in his 1,000th NHL game.
1997 – Alexei Zhamnov scored his sixth career hat trick in the Blackhawks’ 7-3 win over the visiting Flames. The victory put the Blackhawks into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 28th consecutive season, the new longest active streak in professional sports. The streak ended the following season. In fact, they qualified for the postseason only once between 1998 and 2009.
April 12
1915 – Don Grosso was born in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. He was acquired from the Red Wings with Butch McDonald and Cully Simon for Fido Purpir and Earl Seibert on Jan. 2, 1945. He had 16 goals and 32 points in 68 games before being traded to the Boston Bruins for cash after the 1945-46 season.
1926 – Al Dewsbury was born in Goderich, ON. The defenseman was acquired from Detroit in part of an eight-player trade on July 13, 1950. He spent the next six seasons with the Blackhawks, scoring 26 goals and 101 points in 323 games.
1938 – The Blackhawks skated eight American-born players in a 4-1 victory over the Maple Leafs to win their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. They would not win another championship until 1961 or celebrate a Stanley Cup win on home ice again until 2015.
1988 – Tommy Wingels was born in Evanston, IL. The centerman signed with the Blackhawks on July 1, 2017. He had seven goals and 12 points in 57 games before being traded to the Bruins for a fourth-round pick on Feb. 26, 2018. The Blackhawks used that pick to select Antti Saarela, who recently signed his entry-level contract.
Photo courtesy of NHL.com
