2009 Chicago Blackhawks

The 2008-09 season was the Chicago Blackhawks’ best in years, ending with a 2nd place finish in the Central Division and going deep into the playoffs. In the offseason they lost one of their biggest point-producers, Martin Havlat, but they gained the highly-coveted Marian Hossa to replace him, though Hossa won’t be able to play until November due to shoulder surgery. Luckily the offense is strong even without him, with scorers like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Kris Versteeg and Patrick Sharp on the roster. Their defense is pretty great too, boasting Olympic hopefuls Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook as well as the talented Cam Barker, Brian Campbell and Niklas Hjalmarsson. The ‘Hawks are poised for a return to the playoffs in the 2009-10 season, and as one of the more popular teams in the league, tickets to United Center won’t be around for long. Get yours today and get ready to watch the Chicago Blackhawks crush the competition!

Will this be the year the youngsters on the team hit their stride? Get your Chicago Blackhawks tickets, see the lightning fast NHL action, and judge for yourself.

The Blackhawks were originally formed as the Portland Rosebuds of the Western Hockey League. In 1926, the year the NHL expanded from seven to ten teams and divided into two divisions--the American and the Canadian--Major Frederic McLaughlin purchased the club and moved it from Portland, Oregon, to Chicago. He renamed the team the Blackhawks after the 33rd Machine Gun Battalion of the United States Army's Blackhawk Division, which he had commanded during World War I (1914-1918).

The Blackhawks were a powerful team in the NHL in the 1930s, winning the Stanley Cup championship in 1934 and 1938. During the 1960s and early 1970s the team was led by Bobby Hull at left wing and Stan Mikita at center, and Chicago advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals five times. In the 1960s Hull and Mikita each earned two Hart Memorial Trophies as the NHL's most valuable player (MVP).

A team featuring four future Hall of Fame members skated its way to Chicago's third Stanley Cup title in 1961 under the direction of head coach Rudy Pilous. Goalie Glenn Hall and defenseman Pierre Pilote anchored the team's strong defense, and Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita directed the offense. Tony Esposito, another eventual Hall of Fame inductee, took over as goalie in 1969. The Blackhawks competed in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1962, losing to the Maple Leafs, and in 1965, 1971, and 1973, losing to the Canadiens.

Chicago was one of the NHL's steadiest teams in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, consistently qualifying for the playoffs. During the 1980s center Denis Savard was a top scorer, and Doug Wilson became one of the league's toughest defensemen. In both 1991 and 1993 Ed Belfour earned the Vezina Trophy as the league's outstanding goalie. In 1993 and 1996 Chris Chelios earned the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's outstanding defenseman. Also in the early 1990s, center Jeremy Roenick was an essential high-scoring member of the Blackhawks' offense.

In 1992 Chicago reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 19 years. Belfour backed the strongest defense in the conference. In the playoffs the Blackhawks set a single-season playoff record by winning 11 consecutive games. In the championship round, however, Chicago lost to the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins.