Last night during the Pearl Jam concert at the United Center, news broke that on February 25, 2024, against the Detroit Red Wings, Chris Chelios would become the ninth player to have their number retired. For me personally, this is a no-brainer. Chelios was one of my all-time favorite defensemen growing up, and the news of him being traded to Detroit still stings a little bit almost 25 years later. He is arguably not only one of the best defensemen in Blackhawks history but also one of the best American-born defensemen ever. He got to live the dream that even Chicago-born kids dream of growing up to not only make it to the NHL but also play for the Chicago Blackhawks, and now he will get the highest honor you can get and be immortalized in the rafters forever.
Of course, despite what should be seen as an amazing story, there is some controversy here. For the longest time on our podcast, when talking about jersey retirements, we debated: does Chelios get his 7 retired when they retire Seabrooks 7? Never could I imagine that we would see Chelios go up before Seabs, considering everything Seabs brought to this franchise. I am convinced that Seabs will still go to the rafters. I don’t think it will happen the same day as Chelios because he deserves to have his own special day, or they might be planning a double ceremony when they are ready to raise Duncan Keith to the rafters as well.
This jersey retirement, for me at least, feels like the official end of the 90s Blackhawks era. I don’t know if there will be another player from this time period that will have this honor, and I think going forward, it's the cup-era players time to take over as the legends of this franchise. Regardless, this is some great news for a slow period before training camp gets underway. Hang in there, guys! Hockey is almost back!
Check out the WCBPodcast Central (minus the Hawks) Preview!
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»