Blackhawks to retire Chris Chelios’s number seven

The Chicago Blackhawks are retiring the number seven jersey of Chris Chelios of Evergreen Park, Illinois according to Vasili Gianarakos of dailyfaceoff.com on Thursday. Chelios, who played defense for the Blackhawks for nine seasons from 1990 to 1999, could be considered one of the best blueliners in National Hockey League history. The ceremony will be on February 25 when Chicago hosts Detroit.

Regular Season Statistics with the Blackhawks

Chelios had 92 goals and 395 assists for 487 points in 664 regular season games with Chicago. He was a +120 with 1495 penalty minutes, 247 power-play points, 29 shorthanded points, 13 game-winning goals, and 1891 shots on goal.

Playoff Statistics with the Blackhawks

Chelios had 12 goals and 36 assists for 48 points in 65 games. He was a +26 with 133 penalty minutes, five power-play goals, one shorthanded goal, four game-winning goals, and 207 shots on goal. The shorthanded postseason goal came on May 11, 1995 in a 3-2 Blackhawks win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in game three of the 1995 Western Conference Quarterfinal series. Bernie Nicholls of Haliburton, Ontario picked up the lone assist at 13:02 of the third period. The goal was a game-winning goal and gave Chicago a 3-1 lead at the time. The Blackhawks won the best out of seven series four games to three.

Two Playoff Overtime Winners

Chelios scored from Nicholls and Joe Murphy of London, Ontario at 6:22 of the first overtime period in game three of the Western Conference semifinals on May 25, 1995. The Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 to take a three games to none series lead. Then two nights later on May 27, 1995, Chelios scored in overtime again to help Chicago sweep Vancouver. He scored from Denis Savard of Pointe Gatineau, Quebec and Dirk Graham of Regina, Saskatchewan in a 4-3 Chicago win.

Other Accolades with Chicago

Chelios won two Norris Trophies with the Blackhawks. The first came in 1993 and the second in 1996. Chelios had a career high 73 points with Chicago in 1972-73, and then 72 points in 1995-96. He also represented the Blackhawks in eight NHL All-Star games.