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Chicago Blackhawks News and Rumors

The Chicago Blackhawks play in the Central Division of the Western Conference.

The Chicago Blackhawks were founded in 1926 and have 3 Stanley Cup Championships to their credit since their inception.

The Blackhawks survived through the hardships of The Great Depression and World War 2 to become part of “The Original Six” teams to play in the NHL from 1942-1967 when the NHL expanded.

Since 1994–95 the Blackhawks have played their home games at the United Center after having spent over 60 years playing at the Chicago Stadium.

The Blackhawks’ first owner was coffee tycoon Frederic McLaughlin. He had been a commander with the 333rd Machine Gun Battalion of the U.S 86th Infantry Division during World War 1. This Division was nicknamed the “Blackhawk Division”, after a Native American of the Sauk Nation, Chief Black Hawk,  who was a prominent figure in the history of Illinois. McLaughlin evidently named the hockey team in honor of the military unit, making it one of many sports team names using “Indigenous peoples of the Americas” as icons. For many years, the name was spelled primarily “Black Hawks”, but sometimes “Blackhawks”, even by the club itself. This ambiguity was finally settled in the summer of 1986 when the club officially decided on the one-word version based on the spelling found in the original franchise documents.

In the late 1950s, the Hawks struck gold, picking up three young prospects in Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and Pierre Pilote. Hull, Mikita, Pilote, and Hall became preeminent stars in Chicago, and all four would eventually be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The last Stanley Cup Championship for the Chicago Blackhawks came in the 1960-61 NHL season, and was the only team other than Toronto, Montreal, and Detroit to win the Cup during the “Original Six” era.

More recently, the Blackhawks have struggled missing the playoffs 9 of 10 seasons from 1997-98 to 2007-08 (the exception being 2001-02 when they lost in the first round).

2008-09 was a franchise resurrection season for the Chicago Blackhawks, finishing 3rd in the Western Conference and advancing all the way to the Conference finals before losing to the defending champion Detroit Red Wings.

With young stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane leading the charge, the ‘Hawks future is looking the best it has in nearly 60 years.