Chicago Blackhawks announce a brand new captain today in hockey history
Photo credit: NHL.com
The Chicago Blackhawks announced a new captain on this day, 30 years ago.
Many NHL legends wore the Chicago Blackhawks jersey in the past 100 years. While all eyes are on the players who will hopefully become legends in Chicago as we get closer to the start of training camp, today marks a special anniversary for a former captain of the team.
Indeed, 30 years ago today, Chris Chelios was named captain of the Blackhawks.
Chris Chelios Named Captain of the Chicago Blackhawks 30 Years Ago Today
On September 11, 1995, Chris Chelios was about to start his sixth season with the Hawks when he received the news: he would be captain of his team.
He was familiar with that role, as he wore the C for the Montreal Canadiens. But in the end, it didn't work for him.
In a long interview posted on NHL.com last year ahead of his jersey retirement ceremony, he provided insights about his career. This is what he had to say about becoming the Canadiens' captain, and how he ended up traded to Chicago by Habs GM at the time Serge Savard:
"Quite honestly, I wasn't ready to be captain of Montreal. It affected my game, my personality. I just wasn't ready. And we split the captaincy with Guy Carbonneau, which was great, because otherwise I would have had a real bad time. Carbo was a great friend of mine and he could handle the French speaking and all that. So we rotated as captain.
But still, I wasn't performing like I should have and I wasn't mature enough."
"[General Manager] Serge Savard was my biggest supporter in Montreal, and I thank my lucky stars because he told me it was between going to Winnipeg or Chicago."
"I get the call from Serge. And the minute I get off the phone from Serge Savard, I call (my mom) and my dad up, they were in San Diego, and I said, 'Let's go, you're moving back to Chicago.' So within months, we moved everybody back - my sisters, everybody came back from San Diego."
But still, I wasn't performing like I should have and I wasn't mature enough."
"[General Manager] Serge Savard was my biggest supporter in Montreal, and I thank my lucky stars because he told me it was between going to Winnipeg or Chicago."
"I get the call from Serge. And the minute I get off the phone from Serge Savard, I call (my mom) and my dad up, they were in San Diego, and I said, 'Let's go, you're moving back to Chicago.' So within months, we moved everybody back - my sisters, everybody came back from San Diego."
He went on to open up about his first game for his hometown team in Chicago:
"That first game, I'll never forget, I had a goal, assist and a fight. Growing up in Chicago, being at the Hawks games, I was like a lion coming out of a cage. And it was too good to be true the way things went my first year there.
It's one thing to play in the NHL, but then to play in your hometown also, where all your friends, your coaches, everybody - your school teachers The fans, they've been treating me unbelievably. I'm one of those and they showed me that."
It's one thing to play in the NHL, but then to play in your hometown also, where all your friends, your coaches, everybody - your school teachers The fans, they've been treating me unbelievably. I'm one of those and they showed me that."
His daughter, Caley Chelios, a Blackhawks broadcaster, also talked about what it meant for their family to see Chris being named captain in 1995:
"It meant everything to my dad to wear the 'C' for the Blackhawks as a hometown kid. To this day, he's had so much success, but it absolutely kills him that he never won the Cup here and lost to Pittsburgh in the final. He is like, 'You don't know how much that hurt me.'"
Other stories about the Blackhawks' rich history will follow.
Previously on HawksInsider
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