The Blackhawks’ new wave of jersey retirements will continue this season when former defenseman Chris Chelios watches his No. 7 raised to the United Center rafters, the team announced Thursday.
The ceremony — to be held before a Feb. 25 game against the Red Wings, the other team with which Chelios spent the bulk of his career — will make Chelios the second player in as many years to have his jersey retired (after Marian Hossa last season).
New Hawks chairman Danny Wirtz said in a statement that late chairman Rocky Wirtz had wanted Chelios, a Chicago native, to be the next player to have his jersey retired.
“We are entering a new era of Blackhawks hockey on the ice, but the importance of honoring past members of this organization is, and always will be, a priority,” Danny Wirtz said. “Chelios represents not only the Blackhawks but, given his roots here, the city of Chicago. Rocky...would have loved to see this moment.”
The news was announced in dramatic fashion Thursday by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder during a concert at the UC.
“This is going to be something real special,” Chelios said Friday. “[I had] no idea what was coming. ... It was shocking, quite honestly.”
Meanwhile, with a horde of players from the Hawks’ recent Stanley Cup teams winding down their careers and entering the jersey-retirement conversation, sources say the team has established new standards determining player eligibility for jersey retirement.
Those standards, per sources, include that a player must be retired from hockey for at least three years (not including long-term injured reserve); must have spent at least eight years with the Hawks; must have played more games for the Hawks than any other team, with a minimum of 500 Hawks games (400 for goaltenders); and must either have played at least 1,000 games in his overall career (700 for goaltenders) or have been enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, among other standards.
But those just set minimum thresholds, meaning that on-ice excellence, awards, All-Star selections and Cup rings remain the biggest factors. Off-ice contributions, personal character and influence on the sport of hockey will also matter, per sources, while “additional consideration” will be given to members of Cup-winning teams and players who served other roles for the organization (such as broadcaster or ambassador).
Those standards mean Brent Seabrook, who wore No. 7 in more recent years, will be eligible for jersey retirement — as he played 1,114 games over 15 seasons with the Hawks — but not until 2027, since his contract won’t officially expire until 2024. The Hawks do have a precedent of retiring the same number for multiple players — No. 3 is retired for both Pierre Pilote and Keith Magnuson — and that isn’t expected to be an issue.
Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith will each meet the requirements once three years into their retirements, as well. But players such as Corey Crawford, Patrick Sharp and Niklas Hjalmarsson who didn’t reach the 1,000-games threshold will need Hall of Fame induction (or special exemptions) to become eligible. Among popular older-generation players, Doug Wilson, Steve Larmer and Jeremy Roenick notably each qualify.
The team’s centennial season of 2025-26 is expected to be a particularly momentous period for celebrations of former players in general.
Surprise for Chelios
Chelios was emotional Friday not only about the honor of having his jersey retired but also about the way it happened. He and Vedder, an Evanston native, have been close friends since 1995.
Earlier this week, he had reached out to Vedder about doing a tribute to Rocky Wirtz during Thursday’s show. Vedder “played so dumb,” Chelios said, pretending he had never heard of Rocky.
“Unbeknownst to me, I found out he’s been working on this for two months with [Hawks business president Jaime Faulkner] and Danny,” he added. “[On stage], I looked up and I go, ‘That’s not a tribute to Rocky.’ And then I go, ‘I think I know what’s happening here.’ Then I just was in shock, almost like a blackout-type thing, and I just wanted to get off the stage at that moment. But [Eddie] made it special.”
He woke up Friday morning to over 200 congratulatory texts flooding his phone. One from former Hawks coach Mike Keenan stood out, but he gave up trying to respond to them all.
Chelios will become the ninth player in team history to have his jersey retired, meaning the Hawks will have eight numbers permanently out of commission. That ties them with the Bruins for the fourth-most retired numbers among NHL franchises, still well behind the Canadiens’ league-leading 15.
He logged 664 games for the Hawks from 1990 to 1999, part of an iconic career in which he ultimately totaled 1,651 appearances over 26 years with the Hawks, Wings, Canadiens and Thrashers. He retired in 2010, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013 and became a Hawks ambassador in 2018.
He also won three Cups — although none came with the Hawks — and was an 11-time All-Star and three-time Norris Trophy winner. He still ranks 10th in NHL history and fourth in Hawks history in terms of points by a defenseman.
But he admitted he previously thought he hadn’t played long enough in any one spot to earn a jersey retirement, especially now more than a decade since his career ended. That’s another reason why Thursday’s announcement came as such a surprise.
“I’m not gonna say I don’t think anybody from Evergreen Park is ever going to accomplish what I’ve done, but I hope they do,” he said. “From where I came from, I look back [and] it’s pretty amazing. This should have never happened, and it did.”
Hockey at last
Fifth Third Arena will be back in use next week for Hawks rookie camp — an appetizer before the start of main training camp the following week (Sept. 21).
A team of Hawks prospects — expected to include No. 1 pick Connor Bedard — will practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Chicago before traveling to Minnesota for the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. There, the Hawks’ prospect team will face the Blues’ prospect team Saturday and the Wild’s prospect team Sunday.
