Blackhawks fans have been begging for a way to formally recognize players who made terrific contributions in the history of the organ-I-zation for years. The first time I advocated for the Blackhawks to create a team Hall of Fame here was back in September of 2022. Less than one month later, Danny Wirtz confirmed that a Blackhawks Hall of Fame was indeed in the works.
Fast forward three years and the Blackhawks Hall of Fame is now just months from becoming a reality.
At the end of this week, voting will close for the first induction class for the Chicago Blackhawks Hall of Fame. With ballots that split players into pre-2000 and post-2000, fans and media members have been tasked with identifying the first two players who will be recognized during the coming season
I spoke with Blackhawks President of Business Operations Jamie Faulkner about the Blackhawks Hall of Fame launching in the coming year. Recognizing 100 years of the franchise during the Centennial Season made this a logical time to do something formal. Even with the excitement around this being the 100th anniversary of the franchise, Faulkner said the engagement and voting has “far exceeded our expectations.”
She also said the goal isn’t for this season to be a stand along experience for the fans or Blackhawks alumni.
“Our goal, even for the Centennial Season, is not just to bring back and celebrate our alumni for this year and connect them with our fans, but it’s also to connect them with each other,” Faulkner said. “And … the goal is that this is the first of many years now going forward where we continue to bring our alumni back both to connect with each other and with our fans. So, this isn’t intended to be a one-time thing.”
The Blackhawks hope the Centennial Season is just the starting point to have more alumni around the team, the fans and each other for years to come.
Faulkner told me the Blackhawks spent a lot of time working on options for the Heritage and Modern Era ballots. The goal was to have two ballots that don’t have to change when fans vote into the future. The Modern Era ballot can and will continue to evolve as the future of the Blackhawks continues to roll forward. The Heritage Era ballot will include some new names each year as players get voted in. But the experience of voting should stay consistent into the future.
What About Retiring More Numbers?
We’ve talked about this before, but the Blackhawks deciding to not retire any numbers during their Centennial Season was done in part because of the inaugural Hall of Fame class being inducted. I asked Faulkner if players being voted into the Blackhawks Hall of Fame could impact the potential for their number to be retired in the future.
She said yes.
While every player who is ultimately voted into the Blackhawks Hall of Fame won’t have their number retired by the organization, being inducted certainly will give the Blackhawks an opportunity to once again consider the players’ resume and how it aligns with the criteria they have established for retiring a number in the future.
cough… #Retire28 … cough
Faulkner shared that they hope to make an announcement about when the physical Hall of Fame space in the new expansion at Fifth Third Arena will open and a fan event to celebrate the first induction class closer to the start of the 2025-26 regular season. And that an induction ceremony will likely take place during the second half of the season.
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