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The Dartmouth
July 15, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Black days for Blackhawks

I remember an age in which the Hawks lived up to their now-antiquated theme song. The Blackhawks of my childhood were something that every Chicagoan could be proud of. From the hard-hitting, brawling antics of Stu Grimson to the aging Doug Gilmour sans helmet to the legendary defense of Steve Larmer and Chris Chelios, there was something to be said for the Hawks.

Sure, they've never won a Stanley Cup (they came damn close in 1992 before losing to the Penguins), but this team had something that is rarely seen in the NHL these days, and certainly has eluded the Hawks for quite some time. These athletes played with heart and determination. They played a rough bran of hockey that would make any coach proud. With Mike Keenan at the helm, they were always a force to be reckoned with.

Sadly though, the Hawks team that I romanticize about is nothing like the one that exists today. The current team is a hollow shell, a cheap imitation of its former self. Once again, they have failed with flying colors to make the playoffs and have demonstrated what it means to play with minimal intensity. Standouts like Tony Amonte are points of light, harking back to ages past, but such flashes are few and far between.

Some of my criticisms have nothing to do with the team, I'll admit. For one, the dissolution of the traditional organization of the league has been a sore loss for the tradition of the sport and the rivalry that fueled the Hawks. The old Campbell and Wales Conferences were hallmarks illustrating the rich history of the league.

The sterile replacements, the Eastern and Western Conferences, along with the realignment of teams have erased the unique rivalries I remember. The Hawks division, the Central, has lost the Maple Leafs and gained the Blue Jackets and Predators. I remember watching great matchups between the Leafs and Hawks, matchups that have lost their intensity because of tinkering on the part of bureaucrats. The Blue Jackets and Predators sound more like XFL teams than tough hordes of hockey players.

I also mourn the loss of Chicago Stadium. My fondest memories of Hawks games are centered around what used to be the best hockey stadium in the country. It seemed as though all of the seats in the house were right on top of the ice. When the Hawks scored, everyone jumped out of their seats and the roar shook the whole house. Its replacement, the United Center, funded by (who would have guessed) United Airlines, is a sterile, pre-fab corporate invention so full of skyboxes that it reminds me of a luxury hotel. The roar of the Stadium has turned into the purr of the United Center.

Ironically enough, the only things that could have been done to prevent the Hawks' decline were stifled by a man afraid to embrace the new era. The owner of the Hawks, Bill Wirtz, is most to blame for the current dismal state of a once grand franchise. Like another loved Chicago sports team, the Hawks are a family business. Bill Wirtz is not, like many other owners of our age, a cunning businessman only now entering the world of sports. I don't doubt his intentions, but his archaic practices are killing a team that I love.

A perfect example of this phenomenon is his refusal to televise home games. The Hawks are, to my knowledge, one of the only franchises still to blackout broadcasts of their home games on home stations. Wirtz has been quoted as saying that when he has to make a difficult decision, he thinks of what his father would have done. While it was commonly believed that televising home games would make people stay home from games, this view has been widely discredited in our modern era. Relying on a past owner's wisdom has made the fans apathetic and detracted from the unique aura that used to surround the Hawks.

Additionally, his fickleness in paying great players has created a talent vacuum. The losses of Jeremy Roenick and Eddie Belfour are among the most bemoaned occurrences in Chicago sports culture. These players would have gladly stayed in Hawks sweaters had their boss moved with the rest of the world into the 90s. Wirtz' inability to cope with free agency and fairly compensate star players has weakened the team. There are some standouts, no doubt, but another JR or Eddie has yet to arise. Even if they do, Hawks fans can be sure that they will lose such up and coming stars to Wirtz' stinginess.

The world is constantly changing, and nowhere is this more true than in the world of sports. The inability of the Hawks to wake up to this reality has sorely cost them and their fans. I would love to say that I can look forward to another rough and energized team, but I have a sneaking feeling that a memory is all that I will get.