Chicago Blackhawks are a professional hockey team that plays in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Blackhawks compete in the Central Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at the United Center in Chicago.
Chicago entered the NHL in 1926 as the Black Hawks. The name was changed to Blackhawks for the 1985-1986 season. Chicago was one of the Original Six, the name given to the six teams that made up the NHL from 1942 to 1967, a period many consider the league’s golden age. The other five teams were the Boston Bruins, the Detroit Red Wings, the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Rangers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Chicago won the Stanley Cup in 1934 and 1938 but struggled throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s. The team did feature one of the most potent scoring lines in NHL history during the 1940’s, the “Pony Line” of left winger Doug Bentley, center Max Bentley, and right winger Bill Mosienko. The line received the name because the three players were small and quick. Chicago developed into one of the league’s best teams from the late 1950’s to the early 1970’s with the addition of goalies Tony Esposito and Glenn Hall, high-scoring left winger Bobby Hull, and center Stan Mikita. During that period, the team won the Stanley Cup in 1961 and made the finals in 1962, 1965, 1971, and 1973.
The Blackhawks never won their conference during the 1980’s, but a new group of stars played for the team. They included defenseman Doug Wilson and center Denis Savard. The team finally reached the Stanley Cup finals again in 1992, led by defenseman Chris Chelios, goalie Ed Belfour, and center Jeremy Roenick. The team struggled during most of the early 2000’s. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010—the team’s first Stanley Cup in 49 years—and again in 2013 and 2015. Stars of those teams included center Jonathan Toews, defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, goalies Corey Crawford and Antti Niemi, and wingers Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane.
