Earlier this week, the part of their celebration of the organization’s centennial this coming season will be “an independent selection committee” selecting the 100 most “legendary” players in team history, from which the committee will select a 20-player All-Centennial Team.
Which led to some fun conversations on Twitter about the Bruins’ all-time roster (other than No. 4 Bobby Orr) and, for me, some thoughts about what an all-time Blackhawks’ lineup might look like.
The Blackhawks will celebrate 100 years of existence in 2026, and have already intimated that they’re working on a team hall of fame. What that looks like and who’s ultimately charged with making the selections is all TBD, but I love the idea of celebrating 100 years of the Chicago Blackhawks.
But… what about the 20 guys who would make up an all-time lineup for the Blackhawks?
Over the course of 100 years, the Chicago Blackhawks have had some incredible players. Putting together four forward lines wasn’t easy, but I did my best. Let me know in the comments if there are glaring omissions or if there are lines you would have loved to see on the ice at the Chicago Stadium or United Center. I’ll be back with the defensive pairs and goaltenders this weekend.
Center
The Blackhawks have had a terrific history at the dot, with the men I’m putting on the top two lines already inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the guy on the third line just a couple years away (when he retires).
Line 1: Stan Mikita
Line 2: Denis Savard
Line 3: Jonathan Toews
Line 4: Jeremy Roenick
What a luxury to have Roenick as your fourth-line center! It was tough to keep Pit Martin and Max Bentley out of the lineup; Bentley was a point-per-game player for the Blackhawks in the 1940s and is a Hall of Famer in his own right. And Martin ranks fourth — ahead of Roenick — in points among Blackhawks’ centers.
But my final choice at center came down to Roenick and another center who spent most of his career elsewhere, Phil Esposito. He was infamously traded to Boston (for Martin, among others) in arguably the worst trade in Blackhawks ܫhistory. But only four years with the Hawks made him an omission.
Right Wing
This was a tough one because the Blackhawks have also had some of the all-time greats at this position wear their sweater. So my question was whether or not I limit my consideration to the players’ time with the Blackhawks or their complete resume. I also wanted to build lines that you could actually imagine skating in a game, which made this even tougher.
Line 1: Patrick Kane
Line 2: Steve Larmer
Line 3: Marian Hossa
Line 4: Tony Amonte
As you might assume based on my four selections, I opted to give some preference to the resume with the Blackhawks over the entire body of work. But this works ou꧙t in a way, keeping a few guys who played together in their eras on lines.
Savard and Larmer ♔were on one of the more dynamic lines of the 1980s while they were together. Toews and Hossa were arguably two-thirds of the most dominant defensive line of the 2010s. And putting the Boston Boys together on the fourth line is just fun. JR and Amonte would likely spend as much time chirping each other as they would scoring goals.
It was tough keeping Bill Mosienko, Kenny Wharram and Eric Nesterenko in the press box here, however.
Left Wing
The Golden Jet ಞwas an easy call on the top line here, but after that there was a lot of consideration for other names. When the dust settled, I opted to put one member of the dynasty teams on the roster here, saving me a center spot for Roenick.
Line 1: Bobby Hull
Line 2: Patrick Sharp
Line 3: Dennis Hull
Line 4: Al Secord
Bobby Hull s♛pent a lot of time with Mikita, so putting them back together with Kane is a fantasy for Blackhawks fans. I thought about following suit and just leaving the Party Line together with Secord joining Savard and Larmer on the second line, but I love the idea of Sharpie getting some run with those two. The 🌞Silver Jet joins Toews and Hossa on a dynamic third line and Secord gets bumped to be an enforcer with JR and Amonte.
Which makes a lot of sense, because Secord would probably have to clean up messes that JR’s mouth created. But I could have put Bob Probert on that fourth line for toughness, too.
There was no room for guys like Brandon Saad, Alex DeBrincat, Artemi Panarin. I thought about including Doug Bentley; he’s a Hall of Famer after all. But I grew up watching Secord so personal preference wins. Eric Daze would have also been a nice scorer if needed, but… this team would have no trouble scoring.
Line Combinations
Bobby Hull – Stan Mikita – Patrick Kane
Patrick Sharp – Denis Savard – Steve Larmer
Dennis Hull – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa
Al Secord – Jeremy Roenick – Tony Amonte
