Tonight is #19’s last game as a Chicago Blackhawk. He’s at the end of a fantastic Hall of Fame career. I will try and stream the game tonight. If I was in Chicago I’d pay to see him one more time. The picture above is his first season in Chicago. What a baby!
I did not know this but in his first shift as a Blackhawk, he scored a goal. It would be so cool if he scored one tonight…..God willing he will put one in the net.
The last time I saw him in a game, it was Marc-Andre Fleury’s first appearance back in Las Vegas. Fleury was an immensely popular player and people in Vegas were outraged when he was let go. Here is a photo I took. The Hawks won and I don’t think Toews lost a face-off the entire game. Actually, he was 9-3! If you are a hockey geek, here is a link to the box score.
Toews was the Captain. For me, he will always be the Captain…for all past, present and future Blackhawks. It is the best C on the best jersey in all of sport.
A very good trading buddy of mine, JOF, had a son that was a very good hockey player. His son had played with Toews. When the Hawks drafted him, JOF said they will win “cups”. I still remember standing in the trading pit and hearing him say it. I didn’t actually think JOF would be proven right, but of course, he was. It was so good when the Hawks dominated.
I am not a hockey geek. I loved going to the Stadium for games. I love going to the United Center for games too. I attend some games here in Las Vegas and it’s different, not in a bad way. It’s just different. The Knights games are a lot of fun, and the quality of hockey has always been played at a very high level. I do hope they win a Cup this year. Their fans are rabid. There is a lot of energy around them all over town-it’s a different intensity than the Blackhawks in Chicago.
I will say, there is nothing like the national anthem before a Blackhawks game and the buzz in the arena. There are some things I miss about Chicago and standing for the anthem before a Hawks game is one of them. I hope Blackhawk fans do that until my body is long cold and dead in the ground.
Growing up in Chicago, there were certainties. In May the snow would melt and the Blackhawks would be out of the playoffs. Their last Stanley Cup was in 1961. I was born in 1962.
You’d go to the Stadium and then the United Center and see that tattered banner in the rafters. You’d wonder if they’d win a Cup before the Sox or Cubs won a World Series. Of course, the Sox came through in 2007.
When my wife and I lived in Elmhurst, I’d go to PJ Mulvey’s, and the Hawks would be in there drinking beer. Stan Mikita and I had beers a few times. Roenick, Peluso, Belfour, and Bobby Hull sometimes. They were beloved. Really great people and you’d wished they’d get all the pieces to put a run together to win it all but it never happened. Bobby Hull and Mikita were my favorites and I still have a Bobby Hull jersey.
All great things must come to an end. In athletics, age catches up to you. We knew it would end and tonight is the Captain’s last game ever as a Blackhawk. Who knows if he will ever lace ‘em up again? He has nothing to prove. It would only be for the love of the game.
Thank you, thank you, Jon Toews. You and your teams helped make a lot of people’s dreams come true. Without you, it doesn’t happen. You were the Captain and the glue. You made JOF’s prophecy come true. I know he will be there watching tonight and I suspect he won’t be the only one shedding a tear the last time you come off the ice. No one will wear #19 again.
I was really fortunate to be at the game last night....also the last night as a season ticketholder since half of our group (myself included) has moved out of Illinois either full or part time. The anthem was one of the loudest I've heard in the UC. Toews got his goal. His dad was featured on the scoreboard celebrating. It was a graceful and dignified farewell to a stellar career with the Blackhawks. Par for the course for The Captain.
I met Toews once going down the elevator in my condo building, where he lived. The funny thing was that it was the day after they won their last Cup. He was in there, holding two propane tanks, wearing a Hawks championship cap and was with who I presumed was his dad. It looked like he was about to have a party at his penthouse and was grilling out, or maybe going to another party and bringing the grill gas (how funny).
With the city going nuts over the celebration, it was a weird, quiet moment in the elevator, as the floors ticked down. Not wanting to be an intrusive fanboy and ask for an autograph, I just looked over and smiled and said, "You celebrating something?" He and his dad laughed, and then I said, "Congrats on your championship. You guys really earned it! Have a good cookout."
He said, "Thank you. I really appreciate the support." And his dad looked at me and said, "Thank you." They were both very sincere.
Very nice people, even after achieving legendary status. Not all of them are like that.