Chicago Blackhawks: The 10 Most Significant Injuries in Franchise History

When a player goes down, it could be detrimental to his career and his team. Injuries can ruin a season, light a fire or simply create peculiar twists in the sport.

The Chicago Blackhawks are no different. Through the years, they have had the fortunes of their seasons change in the blink of an eye when they’ve lost a key contributor.

Here is a Top 10 list of significant injuries that this franchise has faced including the disappointing, disturbing, inspiring or simply outrageous. Enjoy.

Chris Chelios’ Groin Injury: 1996

In the 1995-96 season, the Hawks finished second in the Central Division with 94 points and disposed of Calgary in four games in the first round of the playoffs. In the second round, they faced the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche.

Taking a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 in Chicago, fortunes turned when captain Chris Chelios was unable to play due to a severely-pulled right groin. The Hawks battled in Game 4 without their defensive anchor and eventual Norris Trophy winner, only to lose in triple-overtime to level the series at 2-2.

Before Game 5 in Colorado, Dr. Lou Kolb gave Chelios a cortisone shot and the results were disastrous. Cheli’s right leg was so numb, it rendered him useless; he was a car without power steering. Colorado pounced on the Hawks early and defeated them handily, 4-1.

The Hawks would drop Game 6 in double-overtime and the Avalanche went on to win hockey’s ultimate prize. The Hawks lost a lot of pieces that could have gotten them to the promised land that season and a fully healthy Chris Chelios may have made the difference.

Stan Mikita and the “Cup of Steel”

The “Un-check-able Czech” played 21 seasons in Chicago and won the Art Ross three times, the Hart Trophy twice and also doubled his money with the Lady Byng.

A pioneer in the sport as the first player to use a curved blade, he was also revolutionary in another area of equipment.

During a mid-season game in Pittsburgh, Mikita took a deflected shot off of his ear lobe, effectively sawing it off. After getting his lobe reattached, Mikita did not intend to play the following night at the Chicago Stadium until he and the assistant trainer devised a plan to tape a steel cup from an athletic supporter to his ear.

When then-Blackhawk Coach Billy Reay asked Mikita what would happen if his ear was hit in the same spot, Mikita’s response? "They can sew it up again."

Mikita played the game and one would hope he is the first and only player in NHL history to wear a “cup of steel” to protect his ear.

Andrew Ladd’s “Undisclosed” Upper Body Injury: 2010

Early in the Blackhawks' Western Conference Final-clinching game in 2010, Andrew Ladd left the ice just over two minutes into the game with what appeared to be an injury to his shoulder. While the United Center faithful celebrated the four-game sweep and the Hawks' first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1992, there was a certain unrest among many as to who would replace the versatile winger.

Enter Tomas Kopecky, who had been a healthy scratch for the five previous playoff contests due to inconsistent play. Kopecky scored the game-winning goal in a 6-5 win in the critical first game of the Cup Finals against the Flyers, and ended up being a key contributor for the rest of the series.

Ladd returned to the lineup in Game 4 of the series and in Game 6 scored his second career goal in a Cup-clinching game. The Hawks raised Lord Stanley for the first time in 49 years.

Jeremy Roenick's Knee Injury: 1995

In the strike-shortened 1995 season, the Blackhawks began as a hungry, explosive team surging ahead in the standings. The regular season took a nosedive on April 2 when the Hawks best player went down.

Jeremy Roenick was attempting to play the puck off the boards when the towering Derian Hatcher led with his left leg and collided with Roenick’s left knee. No penalty was called and the gruesome collision left the Hawks star with a torn ACL.

The Hawks lost their next thirteen games. When Roenick returned in the middle of the Western Conference quarterfinals, he was ineffective. The Blackhawks eventually lost in the Conference finals to Detroit, 4 -1.

Roenick, who totaled more than 100 points in a season three times and had two 50-goal seasons from 1992-94, was traded in 1996. While he continued to produce, he never again reached the 100-point plateau.

This future Hall of Famer’s confrontational personality will continue to get mixed reviews in the Windy City, but Hawks fans should be thankful that Roenick’s most productive and electrifying hockey seasons were during his younger years in Chicago. There may have not been a better player to watch during that time.

Eric Daze’s Back Injuries

Another player who continuously received mixed reviews was Chicago’s Eric Daze. When Daze arrived at the age of 20 for his first full season with the Hawks in 1995-96, he played on a line with Joe Murphy and Bernie “Pumper” Nichols. The 6’6", 235 lbs. Daze delighted with 30 goals and was considered by many to be the future of the offense in the Windy City.

Daze went on to have some productive years. He had 38 goals in 2002, was the MVP of the All-Star Game that year and did what he could during some lean years in Chicago.

Daze’s back began to turn on him, and by the middle of the decade, he was clinging to a once long and promising NHL career. Daze appeared in 19 games in 2003-04 and suited up only once in 2004-05 before calling it quits.

Eric Daze left a taste of unfilled potential with Chicago fans and was out of hockey by the age of 30.

Bobby Orr Announces His Retirement from Chicago: 1978

Nov. 8, 1978 was a difficult day in the NHL. The best player the game had ever seen announced his retirement from Chicago.

The Blackhawks picked up Bobby Orr following the 1975-76 season hoping that he still had some magic left in him despite having a knee that was done for. During the summer of 1976, Orr was outstanding in the Canada Cup tournament, but ground his already-wounded knee to a pulp.

Over the course of three seasons in Chicago, Orr played in 26 games, still mustering 27 points, but was clearly not the same dynamic player he once was. During this three-year stretch, the Blackhawks were a dismal 87-108-45 while holding on to hope that Orr would recover.

Unfortunately, Orr’s career in Chicago was brief and his being sidelined often left the Hawks coming up empty in a lot of games.

Michel Goulet’s Career-Ending Head Injury: 1994

In 1994, Michel Goulet was still a solid 20-goal-a-year player and a leader for the Blackhawks. Gone were his 50-goal/100-point seasons that he put up in Quebec, but at 33, he could still play the game very well.

What happened on the night of March 16, 1994, scared the daylights out of the hockey world. In a game against the Montreal Canadiens, Goulet fired an off-angle shot on Patrick Roy and then fell awkwardly, headfirst into the boards. The boards at the old Montreal Forum were solid wood and Goulet was wearing a very thin Gretzky-style Jofa helmet, which provided little or no protection.

Goulet was carted off the ice and in the weeks and months to follow, there was serious concern about his overall health. Fortunately, he had a full recovery, though he would never play hockey again.

The Often-Injured Martin Havlat 2006-2009

Fans were excited when Martin Havlat was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in 2006.  What many people did not know was how often he got banged up. It seemed like the buzz at the beginning of each season from 2006 to 2009, was how long it would take before the Hawks would have to move forward without him. Whether it was the leg or the shoulder, there was always something bothering No. 24 in red.

Not that Havlat did not preform when healthy; he was a good player and teammate. He finally had a full season in 2009 and played well in the Hawks' playoff run until he sustained a vicious concussion at the hands of Niklas Kronwall. 

When Havlat was up for a contract in the summer of that same year, Dale Tallon decided not to offer him a new sheet and let Havlat and Nikolai Khabibulin walk.

The result: A long-term deal for Marian Hossa, a one-year deal for John Madden and a Stanley Cup championship in 2010. 

Duncan “Teeth”: 2010

Duncan “Teeth,” 2010.

It felt like a bad omen when Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks fired a clearing attempt into the face of Duncan Keith in Game 4 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals. As Keith spit out seven Chiclets, Marleau scored a short-handed goal to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead midway through the second period.

When Keith was getting checked out on the bench, it literally looked like a grenade went off in his mouth.  For Duncan, it was nothing a little gauze could not fix. He composed himself and was on the ice a few minutes later as if nothing happened. Dave Bolland tied the game, 2-2, and in the third period, the Hawks took the lead for good, booking a ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals. 

For many, it became the signature moment of the 2010 Stanley Cup season. 

More Than 100 Stitches for Jocelyn Lemieux: 1992

When you go to a Blackhawks vs. Red Wings game, the arena is half-filled with supporters from each side. It also is a hard-fought battle with raw nerves and raw emotion. Both teams were relatively mediocre in the late seventies and into the eighties and the rivalry was at a standstill. 

Finally, in the 1992 playoffs, the rivalry came back to life when the two teams met as the No. 1 and 2 seeds in the Norris Division.

In the following season, an incident on Dec. 29, 1992 created a bitter hatred between the two teams that would span through the ‘90’s. Chicago’s Jocelyn Lemieux was high-sticked by Detroit defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov. The play resulted in a wound to Lemieux's mouth that required just over 100 sutures to fix. 

Konstantinov went un-penalized while the Chicago bench imploded with outrage. An incensed Lemieux verbally accosted the referee while his bottom lip dangled from his chin. 

Of course there have been a lot of reasons the Wings and Hawks can’t stand each other, but when the rivalry needed to be reignited, it took 100 stitches.