This week in Chicago Blackhawks history: Amonte says goodbye, a lockout ends & more

As we head into the hot summer weeks of July, the historic events begin to slow. However, there were plenty of former Chicago Blackhawks born during the upcoming week, there was an underwhelming draft class, we said goodbye to a popular player and welcomed hockey back.

July 7

1949 – Lynn Powis was born in Maryfield, SK. The Blackhawks acquired the center from the Atlanta Flames in 1973 for defenseman Mike Baumgartner. He scored eight goals and 21 points in 57 games during the 1973-74 season. The following summer, he was selected by the Kansas City Scouts in the NHL Expansion Draft. He returned to Chicago in 1976 for two seasons with the Cougars in the World Hockey Association (WHA).

1954 – Tommy Ivan was named general manager, replacing Bill Tobin. He had spent the previous seven seasons as the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, winning three Stanley Cups. He remained in the GM chair until 1977, amassing a 288-174-111 record. Under Ivan’s leadership, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 1961 and returned to the Final in 1962, 1965, 1971, and 1973.

1966 – Tony Hrkac was born in Thunder Bay, ON. The San Jose Sharks traded him to the Blackhawks in 1992 for a sixth-round draft pick. The center appeared in just 18 games in Chicago, scoring one goal and three points. He signed with the St. Louis Blues the following offseason.

1974 – Goaltender Patrick Lalime was born in St. Bonaventure, QC. He signed with the Blackhawks in 2006. He went 20-18-3 over two seasons in Chicago, posting a 2.89 goals-against average (GAA) and .897 save percentage (SV%). He signed with the Buffalo Sabres in the summer of 2008.

July 8         

1949 – Michel Dumas was born in St. Antoine de Pointbriand, QC. The netminder played in eight career NHL games, all with the Blackhawks. He had two wins during the 1974-75 season. He finished his brief career with a 3.97 GAA and .868 SV%.

1972 – Defenseman Karl Dykhuis was born in Sept-Iles, QC. The Blackhawks selected him in the first round (16^th overall) of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He played the first 18 games of his 12-season NHL career in Chicago. In 1995, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for blueliner Bob Wilkie and a fifth-round draft pick in 1997. That pick was used to select Kyle Calder.

1995 – The Edmonton Oilers hosted the NHL Entry Draft. The Blackhawks used the 19^th overall pick to select Russian forward Dmitri Nabokov. He had seven goals and 11 points in 25 games during the 1997-98 season. He was then traded to the New York Islanders for J.P. Dumont. Second-round pick Christian Laflamme had the most successful NHL career out of this draft class. The defenseman played the first 128 of his 324 career games with the Blackhawks. He was part of the big 1999 trade with the Oilers with Dan Cleary, Chad Kilger, and Ethan Moreau for Jonas Elofsson, Dean McAmmond, and Boris Mironov.

The only other player of this underwhelming class to make the NHL was the eighth-round pick, Casey Hankinson. He had an assist in 11 games during the 2000-01 season and played another three games the following year. He signed with the Anaheim Ducks in 2003 before heading to Europe in 2004.

July 9

1914 – Phil Hergesheimer was born in Winnipeg, MB. The right wing scored 21 goals and 62 points in 122 games for the Blackhawks. After refusing assignment to the Kansas City Americans of the American Hockey Association in 1942, he was traded to the Boston Bruins for cash.

1947 – Jim Harrison was born in Bonnyville, AB. The Toronto Maple Leafs traded the center to the Blackhawks in 1976 for a second-round draft pick. He had 24 goals and 60 points in 107 games before he was dealt to the Oilers for unknown compensation in 1979.

1970 – Center Steve Dubinsky was born in Montreal, QC. The Blackhawks selected him in the 11^th round (226^th overall) of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He played 237 games over eight seasons for Chicago, scoring 16 goals and 42 points. In 1998, he was traded with Jeff Shantz to the Calgary Flames for Jamie Allison, Erik Andersson, and Marty McInnis.

1984 -Chris Campoli was born in North York, ON. The Blackhawks acquired the defender from the Ottawa Senators at the 2011 trade deadline for a second-round draft pick and Ryan Potulny. He had a goal and seven points in 19 games after the trade. Unfortunately, he is remembered for the turnover that led directly to Alex Burrows’ overtime goal in Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, ending the Blackhawks’ reign as Stanley Cup champions. He signed with the Montreal Canadiens the following offseason.

2014 – Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews signed identical eight-year, $84 million contracts. Both future Hall of Famers are heading into the final seasons of these deals.

July 10

1975 – Defenseman Alain Nasreddine was born in Montreal, QC. He was traded to Chicago in 1996 for fellow blueliner Ivan Droppa. He played the first 15 games of his NHL career with the Blackhawks before being included in the 1998 trade with the Canadiens with a fourth-round draft pick, Jeff Hackett, and Eric Weinrich for Brad Brown, Dave Manson, and Jocelyn Thibault.

1998 – Reese Johnson was born in Regina, SK. The undrafted free agent made his NHL debut during the 2020-21 season. He had a goal and six points in 37 games this past season.

July 11

1909 – Clarence MacKenzie was in Cambridge, MA. He had four goals and eight points in 36 games during the 1932-33 season.

1971 – Left wing Dave Chyzowki was born in Edmonton, AB. He was the second overall pick of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. After five underwhelming seasons on Long Island, he signed with the Blackhawks in 1996. He had no points in the eight games he played with the team.

1988 – Ben Smith was born in Winston-Salem, NC. He was a sixth-round pick (169^th overall) of the Blackhawks. He scored a memorable overtime goal against the Canucks in 2011 that forced a Game 7 after Chicago was down 3-0 in the series. Smith was a member of the 2013 Stanley Cup-winning team. In 2015, he was traded to the Sharks for Andrew Desjardins. My favorite bit of Ben Smith trivia is that he is a second cousin of Eric Idle of Monty Python’s Flying Circus fame.

July 12

1925 – Don Campbell was born in Drumheller, AB. The winger played all 17 games of his NHL career with the Blackhawks during the 1943-44 season, scoring one goal and four points.

1938 – Defenseman Matt Ravlich was born in Sault Ste. Marie, On. The Bruins claimed him from the Blackhawks during the 1961 Inter-League Draft. They traded him back to Chicago in 1964 with Jerry Toppazzini for Mike Draper and Murray Balfour. He played 245 games over the next four seasons and scored five goals and 52 points. The Red Wings claimed him in the 1969 Inter-League Draft.

1950 – Gilles Meloche was born in Montreal, QC. The Blackhawks drafted the netminder in the fifth round (70^th overall) of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. He won his only two games with the Blackhawks during the 1970-71 season. In 1971, he was traded with Paul Shmyr to the California Golden Seals for Gerry Desjardins. Meloche played 788 games over 18 seasons in the NHL with stops with the Cleveland Barons, Minnesota North Stars, and Pittsburgh Penguins before retiring in 1988.

1972 – Team Canada announced its roster for tryout camp at Maple Leaf Gardens ahead of the Summit Series versus the Soviet Union. Because the invite was for NHL players only, Blackhawks star Bobby Hull was left off the 35-man roster because he jumped to the WHA. Dennis Hull was invited to camp and almost turned it down to protest, but Bobby urged him to go. Other Blackhawks who eventually made the team were Stan Mikita, Pat Stapleton, and Tony Esposito.

1994 – The Blackhawks traded veteran defenseman Robert Dirk to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for a fourth-round draft pick in 1995. They used that pick on defenseman Chris Van Dyk, who never played in the NHL.

2002 – Tony Amonte ended his time with the Blackhawks by signing with the Phoenix Coyotes. Over his nine seasons in Chicago, he scored 268 goals and 541 points in 627 games. If you blinked, you might have missed his tenure with the Coyotes. He had 13 goals and 36 points in 59 games before being traded to the Flyers.

July 13

1922 – Ken Mosdell was born in Montreal, QC. After 12 seasons and four Stanley Cup wins with the Canadiens, the center was traded to the Blackhawks in 1956 with Bud MacPherson for cash. He had two goals and six points in 25 games during the 1956-57 season before returning to Montreal for his final two games.

1950 – The Blackhawks and Red Wings completed a nine-player deal with Pete Babando, Harry Lumley, Jack Stewart, Al Dewsbury, and Don Morrison coming to Chicago in return for Jim Henry, Bob Goldham, Gaye Stewart, and Metro Prystai. Three months earlier, Babando scored in double-overtime of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers.

1991 – Goaltender Jean-Francois Berube was born in Repentigny, QC. The Columbus Blue Jackets traded him to Chicago in 2018 for Jordan Schroeder. He appeared in 13 games for the Blackhawks during the 2017-18 season, posting a 3.78 GAA and .894 SV%. He had not played in an NHL game since leaving the Windy City until he appeared in six games this past season with the Blue Jackets.

2005 – The lockout that cost the NHL the entire 2004-05 season ended. The most significant addition to the new six-year collective bargaining agreement was establishing a salary cap for the first time in league history, something the Blackhawks learned to hate in a few short years.