Chicago Blackhawks launch Hall of Fame for Centennial Season which will honor fan-favorite legends
Photo credit: Bleacher Report
The Chicago Blackhawks have found a way to honor former players who failed to reach jersey-retirement level, following a new announcement from owner Danny Wirtz.
Danny Wirtz has unveiled his first of many events set to take place next season, in the Blackhawks' 100th NHL season, their centennial year.
Aside from their new logo being unveiled today, the organization is creating a Blackhawks Hall of Fame.
«The concept of a Hall of Fame has been in the works for a long time. If we're going to do it, let's do it right. Let's be thoughtful. Let's think of the criteria. Let's think about how we do this, where it lives, how it comes to life, like all the details that go into it,» Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz said. «So when we launch it, we're not going to launch it half-assed. It's going to be something really well presented, a real honor and something that can be sustainable kind of in perpetuity as a way to honor our history and our past.»
The team's Hall of Fame will have an in-personal exhibition space at the Blackhawks' practice arena, Fifth Third Arena, which is undergoing expansion at the moment.
It will include nine players whose jerseys have already been retired, and two new players will be added each year.
One player from the modern era (2000-01 season or later) and the heritage era, those who played in the 1999-2000 season or earlier.
The first ballot for the modern era includes:
Tony Amonte, Brian Campbell, Corey Crawford, Eric Daze, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, Andrew Shaw, Steve Sullivan, Jocelyn Thibault and Alexei Zhamnov.
The first heritage-era includes:
Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews aren't eligible for ballots yet as they have not retired.
«Those players mean the world to us and to our fans and to our history,» Wirtz said of Kane and Toews. «But at the same time, they're playing. The good news is, especially with all the players, these are still young guys, they have a long time. Whether they play one more year, five more years, 10 more years, I do think they all feel a connection to the Blackhawks, to the organization. Our fans feel that. We will celebrate them in lots of forms and factors for many years to come.»
Wirtz finished his press conference by revealing it's been three years of this Hall of Fame exhibit to be on display, and that fans should be very excited!
| POLL | ||
MAI 15 | 248 ANSWERS Chicago Blackhawks launch Hall of Fame for Centennial Season which will honor fan-favorite legends Which former player should be inducted into the Blackhawks Hall of Fame first? | ||
| Niklas Hjalmarsson | 11 | 4.4 % |
| Duncan Keith | 210 | 84.7 % |
| Patrick Sharp | 23 | 9.3 % |
| Andrew Shaw | 4 | 1.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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