It has been 16 years since the first time the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. With some similarities, aside from the venue, classic retro jerseys and another festive occasion, the Hawks were then and are now a team in transition. 

The 2008–09 Blackhawks were on the rise, led by future hall of famers Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith among other talented players. They had narrowly missed the postseason in the 2007–08 season, and despite being outclassed in the 2009 Winter Classic, and again in the 2008–09 Western Conference Finals by the Detroit Red Wings, the organization then propelled to three Stanley Cup wins over a six-season span. It was lightning in a bottle; a fairy-tale rebuild that the current Chicago faithful are now realizing, which will not come as easy this time around. 

The 2024–25 Hawks entered the Winter Classic versus the St. Louis Blues on a four-game skid, in last place in the NHL and despite the promise of a 19-year-old generational talent, Connor Bedard, and an abundance of other prospects who may or may not eventually turn out, they are still at the foot of the mountain looking up. Though there is the promise of a new day and a more competitive, Cup-contending team in the future, the pace of this rebuild, rising ticket prices, in addition to television contracts and the inability for all Chicagoans to even watch their team locally, the patience of the most loyal Hawks fans has been wearing thin. 

But today, in a day of celebration, not even an energetic performance of “Tonight” by the iconic Chicago band Smashing Pumpkins could ignite the Blackhawks to a winning performance. As they have been all season long, and this game no exception, the Hawks were dreadful; a tale consistent, yet nevertheless tiring and downright frustrating.

From the onset, the game did not go according to plan; or maybe it did, if you have been closely following this year’s Hawks. Within the first minute, Louis Crevier cleared the pick over the glass in his own zone for a delay-of-game penalty. On the ensuing power play, Cam Fowler tallied a goal in the 1,000th game of his career from a wrist shot from the slot, assisted by Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas to make it 1–0 St. Louis.

If that was not an early sign, I am not sure what else could be. The Blues continued to create the pace and the Hawks took another penalty before the seven-minute mark when Nolan Allan was escorted to the penalty box for holding. Jordan Kyrou buried one from the goalmouth after some nifty puck movement from the Blues to make it 2–0 before the halfway mark of the period. 

The Hawks began to skate a bit and cut the lead in half on the power play with just over five minutes to go in the first period. Ryan Donato kept the puck in the zone and blasted a shot from inside the blue line. Jordan Binnington kicked the rebound out, right to the stick of Taylor Hall, who banged it home to make it 2–1.

CHELSEA DAGGER AT WRIGLEY FIELD pic.twitter.com/sFo637gX91

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 31, 2024

Chicago outshot the Blues 10–7 before the period concluded.

And that was about it. Three second-period goals from Justin Faulk, Dylan Holloway and a second from Fowler gave the Blues a 5–1 lead going into the third period. At that point the game was lost. Yes, Tyler Bertuzzi made it 5–2 in the third period, Bedard got on the board with a secondary assist to give us some emotional insurance that there is an actual rebuild plan, but it still ended with a 5–2 victory for the Blues.

ringing in the New Year pic.twitter.com/Elzq2hy9Dw

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 1, 2025

Perhaps this is a game that some Hawks fans will look back on with fondness, as a bookmark to the beginning stages of when the rebuild actually began, or more likely for the experience of an outdoor game, battling the elements and environment in Wrigleyville. Those same fans will not remember it for heading to the exits early with new holes in their wallets, listening to Blues fans chant in euphoria after a convincing, and truly easy victory.

Time will tell if and when Chicago will become contenders again, but in contrast to the last time the Hawks played at Wrigley Field amidst a “return to glory,” this year’s game was a bit premature for that. Do not blame anybody within the organization for it, certainly not Danny Wirtz for saying “yes” to a Winter Classic at Wrigley. Who on Earth would decline that? That said, for those Hawks fans who have not had an opportunity to even watch their team this year due to bureaucratic nonsense amongst television providers and ownership, this may have been their first glimpse at how dismal of an on-ice product the Blackhawks have, and how far they have to go before returning to relevance. 

It was fun — the jerseys, pregame skates with players and families, a neat walk through an alleyway to bagpipes for the home side, an adoring crowd and surely a revenue stream to support a struggling franchise, that is for sure. Ultimately though, if the Chicago Blackhawks want to replicate the fortunes of another group that once skated at Wrigley Field over 15 years ago, it will take more than pageantry to do so. Hockey is a game, a sport that in many ways is simple. There is the victor and the vanquished, and being the victor is not a role the Hawks have enjoyed of late. Success is defined not by merchandise nor the bottom line. If the Blackhawks as an organization did not realize it before, in hockey as in any sport, there is no substitute for winning. None.

The post ANALYSIS: Blues breeze by Blackhawks in Winter Classic appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John Jaeckel are joined by HockeyBuzz Blackhawks writer Tyler Cameron aka Justin Lowe to discuss the team’s return to earth.

• • The Blackhawks trade Jan Rutta and a pick to Tampa for Slater Koekkoek and a pick
  • The roast of Erik “future Norris Trophy winning Defenseman” Gustafsson
  • We discuss some draft ideas
  • Who should and shouldn’t the Blackhawks target via trade or free agency?
  • The Panarin thing will not go away.
  • Some goalie talk
  • We answered some great listener and reader questions

New for 2019, the Rinkcast is also available on YouTube

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, Please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 41 w/ Justin Lowe appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John Jaeckel get together to talk about the  Blackhawks and their happenings over the holidays.

• Our Indy Fuel beat writer Evan Miller gives us the first Indy Fuel report.
• The Blackhawks lose to Boston in the 2019 Winter Classic.
• Blackhawks trade Manning and Norell to Edmonton for Caggiula and Garrison
• Where does Caggiula fit in the lineup?  Does anyone get sent down or waived?
• Goalie talk with the Gatekeeper
• We answered some great listener and reader questions

As a new year gift, we close out with “On My Side” from The-Rink friend and huge Blackhawks fan Patrick Judge with his bandmates in Demon Hunter.

New for 2019, the Rinkcast is also available on YouTube

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, Please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 40 – Winter Classic appeared first on The Rink.

12:00pm CST
Notre Dame Stadium
TV/Radio: NBC

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Cam Ward (6–6–4, SV%: .886, GAA: 3.90)
Boston – Tuukka Rask (9–8–2, SV%: .912, GAA: 2.67)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (15.3%, 24th)
Boston (26.6%, 5th)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (74.2%, 31st)
Boston (79.1%, 17th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.5, 19th; 34.2, 28th)
Boston (32.9, 7th; 31.2, 16th)

Shooting %
Chicago (9.2%, 19th)
Boston (8.5%, 28th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (49.9%, T-17th)
Boston (50.3%, 15th)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 198lbs
Boston 6’1” 196lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Dominik Kahun

Artem Anisimov–Dylan Strome–Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dylan Sikura

John Hayden–Marcus Kruger–Brendan Perlini

Duncan Keith–Erik Gustafsson

Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

Boston Bruins

Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–David Pastrnak

Jake DeBrusk–David Krejci–Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson

Ryan Donato–Colby Cave–Noel Acciari

Danton Heinen–Sean Kuraly–Chris Wagner

Zdeno Chara–Brandon Carlo

Torey Krug–John Moore

Matt Grzelcyk–Kevan Miller

Analysis

The Blackhawks enter 2019 winning their last two games, and winning five of their last six. Strong outings against the Wild and Avalanche for Collin Delia gave the impression they would ride the hot hand into Notre Dame Stadium against the Bruins. Instead, it will be 34-year-old Cam Ward manning the net on New Year’s Day, despite Delia’s strong outings over the last two games.

Patrick Kane is having a stellar season. After collecting his 20th goal against the Minnesota Wild, Kane collected his 12th straight 20-goal campaign for his career. The 30-year-old right wing also is on a seven-game point streak (7-6-13 in that span) heading into the New Year’s Day matinée.

The Blackhawks dealt Brandon Manning (Stan’s big mistake from the offseason) and Robin Norell to the Edmonton Oilers for Drake Caggiula and Jason Garrison.  Caggiula will not play since he was not able to report the team yet because of work visa holdups. Garrison was placed on waivers for purpose of sending him down to the Rockford IceHogs.

The Bruins enter the Winter Classic winning only one of their last three games. After consecutive losses to the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils, the Bruins got back on track beating the surprise Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in Buffalo.

Per reports, defenseman Charlie McAvoy will not play on Tuesday afternoon with a lower-body injury. The Bruins are hoping for the young star to return for their game Thursday evening. Brad Marchand’s health was also uncertain, but he is confirmed to be “good to go” per Bruins’ head coach Bruce Cassidy.

Comment below in our live game thread today!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game later this afternoon on the-rink.com.

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs. Bruins appeared first on The Rink.

The modern twist on a classic logo was revealed on August 24.  The black and white logo has a modern felt version of the indianhead surrounded by the words “Chicago” and “Blackhawks”.  The classic logo was worn by the franchise in the 1920s and early 1930s.

The sweaters, themselves, are a basic two-color black base with basic white letters much like the ones work in 1934.  Along with the white letters, there are white strips on the shoulders, arms and bottom of the sweater. The whole concept is very minimalist, which makes it look that much more clean and professional.

The jerseys are available online and in the Blackhawks store.

Back in Black#WinterClassic pic.twitter.com/Bg2IkLFc0y

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 8, 2018

The post BREAKING: Blackhawks Reveal Winter Classic Sweaters appeared first on The Rink.

Photo courtesy of IceThetics.co

The Bruins concept is based on a few different early 1930s sweaters, with a prominent “B” in a brown and gold palette and stripes on the sleeves. The base is white with the Bruins coming in as the road team.

Photo courtesy of Icethetics.co

Also included was screen grab of a confidential release detailing the lettering on the back of the sweaters, which adds another dimension to the look of these specialty sweaters. These throwback uniforms will be the most extreme deviations from the regular Blackhawks uniforms since the Winter Classic of 2009 when the Blackhawks faced the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field.

Photo courtesy of Icethetics.co

The Blackhawks will face the Boston Bruins January 1, 2019 at University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. This will be the fourth Winter Classic for the Blackhawks (sixth outdoor appearance overall) and the third for the Bruins.

For a more detailed analysis on the sweaters, visit the piece on the Icethetics website.

The post Blackhawks and Bruins Winter Classic Sweater Concepts Leaked appeared first on The Rink.

The team was very careful to specify that this was only the logo they would be using, not the sweater concept. In the past, they have used similar concepts to sweaters worn in the late 1930s and the late 1950s. This concept is new ground for the Blackhawks, as the concept strays away from their typical red/black/white palette to a strictly black and white one.

This is also the first time since the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field against the Detroit Red Wings, that they are committing to a logo other than the modern Blackhawks indianhead. In the 2017 Winter Classic, they wore 1959 style sweaters but chose to use the modern logo on the crest.

On Jan. 1, 2019, we’ll be throwing it back—way back—to the striking sweaters of the 1920s and ’30s.

Here’s an exclusive look at the logo we’ll proudly wear in the #WinterClassic! pic.twitter.com/PtlVmO7avY

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) August 24, 2018

The post Blackhawks Tease 2019 Winter Classic Logo appeared first on The Rink.