This Week in Chicago Blackhawks History: Chris Chelios & Eddie Olczyk make playoff history

This week in Chicago Blackhawks history has seen it all. The franchise was awarded to the city of Chicago, playoff records were broken, seasons ended, and the worst trade ever made was finalized. The CHGO time machine is fueled up and ready to take us back through the decades, so let’s hope on the ride.

May 11

1924 – Jean Marois was born in Quebec City, QC. The goaltender appeared in two games for the Blackhawks during the 1953-54 season, giving up 11 goals in his pair of starts.

1971 – The Montreal Canadiens beat the Blackhawks 5-2 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Legendary Habs captain Jean Beliveau scored his final playoff goal in the victory. His 79 playoff goals remain the second-most in Montreal franchise history behind the 82 scored by fellow Hall of Famer Maurice Richard. Stan Mikita scored the Blackhawks’ first goal on the power play before assisting on Dennis Hull’s third-period tally.

1995 – After losing the first two games on home ice, the Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Gary Suter scored the first two goals before Chris Chelios netted a shorthanded tally late in the third period.

1996 – Patrick Roy became the NHL’s all-time leader in playoff minutes played by a goaltender during the Colorado Avalanche’s 4-1 win over the Blackhawks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

2009 – The Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference Finals by beating the Vancouver Canucks 7-5 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The dynamic duo of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews was too much to handle. Kane netted his first postseason hat trick, while Toews had two goals and an assist. The pair scored 49 seconds apart late in the third period to give the Blackhawks a 6-5 lead. Kris Versteeg and Adam Burish rounded out the scoring for the Blackhawks.

2010 – Exactly one year after eliminating the Canucks from the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Blackhawks repeated the feat with a 5-1 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals. After a scoreless first period, Troy Brouwer, Versteeg, and Dave Bolland scored in the middle frame. Kane and Dustin Byfuglien scored 25 seconds apart in the third period to ice the series.

2014 – The Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Bryan Bickell tied the game with a power-play goal midway through the second period. Toews scored the game-winning goal early in the final frame. Patrick Sharp assisted on both goals while Corey Crawford stopped 27 shots to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 series lead.

May 12

1922 – Bob Goldham was born in Georgetown, ON. The defenseman was acquired from the Maple Leafs with Gus Bodnar, Ernie Dickens, Bud Poile, and Gaye Stewart for Max Bentley and Cy Thomas on Nov. 2, 1947. He had five goals and 34 points in 165 games over three seasons before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings as part of a nine-player deal on July 12, 1950.

1929 – Dollard St. Laurent was born in Verdun, QC. After winning four Stanley Cups with the Canadiens, he was traded to the Blackhawks for cash on June 3, 1958. The defenseman played 270 games over the next four seasons and scored 10 goals and 61 points, and won a fifth Stanley Cup in 1961.

1959 – Dave Christian was born in Warroad, MN. The Blackhawks claimed the veteran winger off waivers from the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 4, 1992. He played the final 69 of his 1,009 career games in Chicago, scoring four goals and 21 points.

1967 – Warren Rychel was born in Tecumseh, ON. He played two scoreless games for the Blackhawks during the 1988-89 season. On July 22, 1991, he was traded with Troy Murray to the Winnipeg Jets for Bryan Marchment and Chris Norton.

1981 – David Koci was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Initially drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2000, the left wing signed with the Blackhawks in 2006. He played 27 games over two seasons and did not pick up a point but racked up 156 penalty minutes before signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008.

1985 – The Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers 8-6 in Game 4 of the Campbell Conference Final. The teams combined for eight goals and 60 penalty minutes in the first period. Eddie Olcyzk scored a shorthanded goal in that crazy opening frame to become the youngest player since expansion in 1967 to score a goal in a Conference or Stanley Cup Final game at 18 years and 269 days. Steve Larmer led the offense with two goals and three points. Fifteen different Blackhawks picked up at least one point, including goaltender Murray Bannerman.

1988 – Viktor Tikhonov was born in Riga, USSR. He signed with the Blackhawks on July 1, 2015. The right wing had no points in 11 games before the Arizona Coyotes claimed him off waivers on Dec. 15, 2015.

1990 – The Oilers eliminated the Blackhawks again with an 8-4 win in Game 6 of the Campbell Conference Final. Jeremy Roenick, Adam Creighton, Steve Thomas, and Trent Yawney scored in the losing effort. Unfortunately, three of those goals came in the third period when the Blackhawks were down 7-1.

1989 – Antti Raanta was born in Rauma, Finland. He signed as a free agent on June 3, 2013. The netminder went 34-20-9 in his two seasons with the Blackhawks, posting a .912 save percentage (SV%), 2.41 goals-against average (GAA), and three shutouts. On June 27, 2015, he was traded to the New York Rangers for Ryan Haggerty.

May 13

1898 – Babe Dye was born in Hamilton, ON. The Hall of Fame right wing was acquired from the Maple Leafs for cash on Oct. 18, 1926. He scored 25 goals during the Blackhawks’ inaugural season. Dye played 11 pointless games during the 1927-28 season before he was traded to the New York Americans for cash on Oct. 17, 1928.

1971 – Bobby Hull set a team record during the Blackhawks’ 2-0 win over the Canadiens in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. His assist on his brother Dennis’ goal gave him 22 points in the 1971 postseason, the most ever scored by a Blackhawks player in a single playoff. Tony Esposito picked up his second shutout of the series with 31 saves to give his team a 3-2 lead in the series.

1975 – Jamie Allison was born in Lindsay, ON. The defenseman was acquired from the Calgary Flames with Erik Andersson and Marty McInnis for Jeff Shantz and Steve Dubinsky on Oct. 27, 1998. He played 142 games over three seasons and scored four goals and 12 points. He headed back to Calgary on Sept. 28, 2001, when the Flames claimed him in the NHL Waiver Draft.

1986 – Versteeg was born in Lethbridge, AB. His first stint with the Blackhawks began on Feb. 3, 2007, when he was acquired from the Boston Bruins for Brandon Bochenski. He scored 44 goals and 101 points in 160 games over three seasons. Shortly after the 2010 Stanley Cup victory, he was traded to the Maple Leafs with Bill Sweatt for Christopher Didomenico, Philippe Paradis, and Viktor Stålberg. Versteeg returned to Chicago on Nov. 14, 2013, when he was acquired from the Florida Panthers with Phillippe Lefebvre for Jimmy Hayes and Dylan Olsen. He scored another 24 goals and 62 points in 123 games and was part of the 2015 championship team. On Sept. 11, 2015, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes with Joakim Nordstrom for Jake Massie, Dennis Robertson, and a fifth-round pick.

1995 – Murray Craven had a goal and an assist as the Blackhawks beat the Maple Leafs 3-1 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Joe Murphy and Shantz also scored to bring the series back to Chicago tied 2-2.

1996 – The Blackhawks said goodbye to the 1995-96 season after a 4-3 double overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Savard, Bernie Nicholls, and Murphy scored in regulation before Sandis Ozolinsh notched the series-clinching goal.

2014 – The Blackhawks eliminated the Wild by knocking them off 2-1 in overtime of Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Versteeg’s first goal of the 2014 postseason gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead before the game was two minutes old. In extra time, Kane beat Ilya Byrzgalov to advance to the next round. Crawford made 34 saves and allowed five total goals in the four wins during the series.

May 14

1951 – Pierre Plante was born in Valleyfield, QC. The Blackhawks traded Dick Redmond to the Blues for the right wing on Aug. 9, 1977. He had 10 goals and 28 points in 77 games during his lone season in Chicago. On May 4, 1978, he was sent to the Minnesota North Stars to complete an earlier trade for Doug Hicks.

1959 – Rick Vaive was born in Ottawa, ON. He was drafted fifth overall by the Canucks in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to the Blackhawks with Bob McGill and Steve Thomas for Olczyk and Al Secord. The right wing scored 55 goals and 94 points in 106 games before he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Creighton on Dec. 26, 1988.

1985 – The Oilers took a 3-2 lead in the Campbell Conference Final with a 10-5 win over the Blackhawks in Game 5. Future Blackhawk Paul Coffey made history by scoring a goal and adding five assists, setting an NHL record for the most points scored by a defenseman in a Stanley Cup Playoff game. Darryl Sutter scored two goals for the Blackhawks, while Denis Savard had a goal and three assists.

May 15

1926 – The NHL announced that Chicago and Detroit would have teams for the 1926-27 season, pushing the league to 10. Both the Blackhawks and Detroit Cougars began playing the following fall. The Cougars became the Falcons in 1930 before changing to the familiar Red Wings name in 1932.

1966 – Paul Ysebaert was born in Sarnia, ON. The veteran center was acquired from the Jets for a third-round pick on March 21, 1994. He scored nine goals and 17 points in 26 games before he was traded to the Lightning with Rich Sutter for Jeff Buchanan, Jim Cummins, and Tom Tilley on Feb. 22, 1995.

1967 – The worst trade in franchise history went down when Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, and Fred Stanfield were sent to the Bruins for Gilles Marotte, Pit Martin, and Jack Norris. Esposito had three straight 20-plus goal seasons for the Blackhawks but became one the greatest goal scorers the NHL has ever seen in Boston. He scored 459 goals and 1,012 points in his nine seasons with the Bruins. He finished his legendary 18-season career with 717 goals and 1,590 points in 1,282 games.

1995 – The Blackhawks beat the Maple Leafs 4-2 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals for the first-ever playoff win at United Center. Craven scored twice to lead the way, with Tony Amonte and Murphy adding goals.

2013 – The Blackhawks opened the Western Conference Semifinals with a 4-1 victory over the Red Wings. Marian Hossa opened the scoring against his former team in the first period. Johnny Oduya, Marcus Kruger, and Sharp scored in the final period to put the game away.

May 16

1971 – Beliveau picked up two assists as the Canadiens forced a seventh game of the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-3 win over the Blackhawks. These were the final two points of Beliveau’s career as he announced his retirement shortly after the Canadiens won Game 7. He retired with 176 career playoff points, the most in NHL history at the time. On the Chicago side, Chico Maki sandwiched a goal between two tallies by Jim Pappin.

1984 – Tomas Fleischmann was born in Koprivnice, Czechoslovakia. The left wing played the final 19 games of his NHL career with the Blackhawks after he and Dale Weise were acquired from the Canadiens for Phillip Danault and a second-round pick. He had four goals and five points during the regular season and had no points in his four postseason games.

1985 – The Blackhawks’ season ended with an 8-2 loss to the Oilers in Game 6 of the Campbell Conference Final. Edmonton Hall of Famer Jari Kurri scored four goals to become the first player in NHL history to have three hat tricks in the same playoff year.

1992 –Roenick and Larmer scored twice and added two assists as the Blackhawks beat the Oilers 8-2 in Game 1 of the Campbell Conference Final. Twelve of the 18 skaters dressed found the scoresheet while Ed Belfour made 17 saves in net.

2010 – The Blackhawks beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. They trailed 1-0 until Patrick Shark found the back of the net midway through the second period. Byfuglien continued his monster postseason by scoring the game-winning goal with less than seven minutes to play.

May 17

1970 – Daniel Gauthier was born in Charlemagne, QC. The left wing signed with the Blackhawks on June 14, 1994. He played five games during the 1994-95 season and did not register a point.

1970 – Cummings was born in Dearborn, MI. The right wing was acquired in the trade with the Lightning that sent Yserbart to Tampa Bay. In 199 games over four seasons, he scored 11 goals and 24 points while collecting 674 penalty minutes. On March 4, 1998, he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes with Keith Carney for Chad Kilger and Jayson More.

1974 – Mike Prokopec was born in Toronto, ON. He was drafted by the Blackhawks in the seventh round (161^st overall) of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. The right wing dressed for 15 games over two seasons and did not pick up a point. On March 18, 1997, he was traded to Ottawa Senators with a sixth-round pick for Kevin Bolibrick and Denis Chasse. The Senators used that pick to draft Chris Neil.

1995 – Randy Wood forced Game 7 as his overtime goal gave the Maple Leafs a 5-4 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Dirk Graham had the only goal of the first period before Toronto scored four straight goals to build a 4-1 lead a minute into the final stanza. The Blackhawks stormed back to force overtime with goals from Savard, Murphy, and Brent Sutter. Future Blackhawk Doug Gilmour picked up two assists to pass Dave Keon as the Maple Leafs’ all-time leading playoff scorer with 67 points.

2002 – Lukas Reichel was born in Nurnberg, Germany. The speedy left wing was drafted 17^th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. In 34 career NHL games, he has seven goals and 16 points.

2009 – The Red Wings beat the Blackhawks 5-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Burish gave Chicago an early 1-0 lead before Versteeg tied the game with a power-play goal in the third period. Detroit scored three unanswered goals to close out the game and take a 1-0 series lead. Former Blackhawk Daniel Cleary scored twice for the Red Wings.

2015 – The Blackhawks lost 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Brad Richards scored Chicago’s lone goal late in the second period.

May 18

1924 – Tom Fowler was born in Winnipeg, MB. The centerman had one assist in 24 games during the 1946-47 season.

1937 – Bill Stewart was named the Blackhawks’ new head coach, replacing Clem Loughlin. He won the Stanley Cup in his first season behind the Chicago bench.

1957 – Bob Janecyk was born in Chicago, IL. The goaltender signed with the Blackhawks on June 3, 1980, after he finished his college career at Chicago State University. He appeared in eight games during the 1983-84 season and went 2-3-1 with a .882 SV% and 4.10 GAA. On June 6, 1984, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings with a first, third, and fourth-round pick for a first and fourth-round pick. The Blackhawks used the first-rounder acquired to draft Olczyk. On a side note, the Kings used the fourth-round pick to draft future Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine.

1971 – In one of the most disappointing games in team history, the Blackhawks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final 3-2 to the Canadiens. Dennis Hull opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the final minute of the first period. Danny O’Shea doubled the lead at 7:33 of the middle frame. Jacques Lemaire’s goal from center ice changed the course of the game late in the second period. Henri Richard tied the game four minutes after the fluky goal and scored the series-winning goal early in the third period. Goaltender Ken Dryden, who made 12 saves in the final period, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the most valuable player of the postseason.

1992 – Chris Chelios tied a playoff record with three assists in one period as the Blackhawks beat the Oilers 4-2 in Game 2 of the Campbell Conference Final. The win gave Chicago a 2-0 lead in the series and set a team record with nine straight playoff victories.

2010 – Byfuglien scored his sixth goal of the playoffs to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-2 win over the Sharks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Andrew Ladd, Teows, and Brouwer all found the back of the net as Antti Niemi made 25 saves in net.

2014 – The Blackhawks opened a memorable Western Conference Final with a 3-1 victory over the Kings. Duncan Keith scored the game-winning goal midway through the second period. Brandon Saad had a goal and an assist, with Hossa picking up two helpers.

Photo Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport