2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks season



The 2009–10 Chicago Blackhawks season is the club's 83rd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The season began on October 2, 2009; with a pair of games against the Florida Panthers in Helsinki, Finland; and ended on June 9, 2010; when the Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 2, in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, giving the organization its first NHL championship since 1961 and fourth overall.

Pre-season
During the ownership of Bill Wirtz, Blackhawks fans had become aggravated with the direction he had taken the franchise in. He had banned home games from being televised, did not bring back some of more notable Blackhawk players and had damaged the reputation one of the league's Original Six franchises. Wirtz had become one of the most disparaged owners in professional sports. After Wirtz passed away, his son Rocky Wirtz took ownership of the team. When he took over, the Blackhawks had only 3,500 season-ticket holders and had the second-lowest attendance in the league. One week into the 2007-08 NHL season, the team was in danger of failing to make payroll and needed a $34 million loan from the Wirtz Corp. to help it stay afloat. However, Wirtz ended his father's ban on televising home games and fixed the franchise's relationship with Blackhawk legends Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito. He also hired John McDonough, president of the Chicago Cubs, to the same position with the Blackhawks. Home attendance rose 46 percent and merchandise sales surged 175 percent after McDonough was hired. In the 2007-08 season, the Blackhawks finished above .500 (40-34-8, 88 points) for the first time since the 1995-96 NHL season but narrowly missed the playoffs.

In the 2008–09 NHL season, The Blackhawks went 46-24-12, finishing with 104 points. They finished 2nd in the Central Division and 4th in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks' 46 wins were their most since winning 47 in the 1992–93 NHL season. The Blackhawks’ reached the 100-point mark for the first time since 1992–93 season and improved by 16 points over the past season when their 88-point total left them three points away of a playoff berth. They were the only NHL to improve on its record in each of the previous four seasons. The Blackhawks made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and it was their second playoff appearance in the previous 11 years. In the playoffs, the Blackhawks defeated the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks before losing to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals. It was the Blackhawks first appearance in the Western Conference Finals since 1995.

The Blackhawks, however, had a turbulent offseason. The Blackhawks saw assistant General Manager Rick Dudley resign from his position and join the Atlanta Thrashers as associate General Manager. On July 1, 2009, the Blackhawks made a significant acquisition to the team when they signed five-time all-star Marian Hossa to a 12 year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks worth $62.8 million. At the time, it was the most lucrative deal in team history. The signing of Hossa by the Blackhawks coincided with the departure of the team's leading scorer from the previous season, Martin Havlat, to the Minnesota Wild. Other key additions for the Blackhawks were John Madden and Tomáš Kopecký. Along with Havlat, Nikolai Khabibulin, Sammy Pahlsson, and Matt Walker were notable losses for the team.

Shortly after signing Hossa, the team disclosed that he was still rehabilitating a shoulder injury he sustained during the previous postseason. He underwent shoulder surgery and ended up missing the first 22 games of the season. During the offseason, The NHL Players' Association filed a grievance, saying that the Blackhawks missed the deadline for giving qualifying offers to restricted free agents. This caused Tallon to quickly sign eight players to make sure they didn't end up as unrestricted free agents. The mistake proved to be a large influence in the removing of Dale Tallon as General Manager. He was replaced with Stan Bowman, the assistant General Manager and son of Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman. The NHL also investigated Hossa's contract as well. The Blackhawks named Kevin Cheveldayoff, General Manager of the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League, as assistant General Manager. The team also promoted assistant coach Marc Bergevin to the position of director of player personnel.

In August, the Blackhawks saw star player Patrick Kane embroiled in controversy when he and his cousin were arrested in Buffalo, New York. Kane was apprehended in the early morning hours after allegedly punching a cab driver when he claimed to not have proper change for their trip fare. Kane was charged with second-degree robbery, a Class C felony, and fourth-degree criminal mischief and theft-of-services, both of which were Class A misdemeanors. He pleaded not guilty. On August 17, Kane apologized for the arrest. Kane and his cousin appeared before a grand jury on August 19. While they were cleared of any felony charges, the two were still indicted on misdemeanor assault, theft and harassment charges. Kane and his cousin reiterated their not guilty pleas when appearing in court the next day. On August 27, Kane and his cousin pleaded guilty to noncriminal disorderly conduct charges, and were both given conditional discharges.

Regular season

 * On November 25, the Blackhawks scored three short-handed goals in a 7-2 win over the San Jose Sharks
 * On April 6, the Blackhawks won their 50th game of the season against the Dallas Stars, setting a new franchise record for wins in a season.
 * On April 7, the Hawks notched their 109th point of the season against the St. Louis Blues, setting another franchise record.
 * On April 9, the Hawks won their 23rd game of the season on the road against the Colorado Avalanche, setting another franchise record.

Game log
Legend:

Playoffs

 * The Chicago Blackhawks have qualified for the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 1996 and 1997.
 * The Blackhawks have won their division for the first time since the 1992–93 season.
 * The Blackhawks have reached the Western Conference Finals for the 2nd year in a row.
 * On May 18, the Blackhawks tied an NHL playoff record of 7 straight wins on the road.
 * Jonathan Toews set a franchise playoff record on May 21 by earning a point in 12 consecutive games, breaking Stan Mikita's record. His streak ended at 13 games after failing to register a point in game one of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals
 * On May 23, the Blackhawks won their first Conference Final since the 1991–92 season.
 * Marian Hossa became the first player in history to make three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with three different teams after accomplishing the feat with the 2008 Pittsburgh Penguins and 2009 Detroit Red Wings
 * Jonathan Toews became the 25th member of hockey's prestigious Triple Gold Club after winning the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks, an Olympic gold medal with Canada earlier in the year, and a World Championship, also with Canada, in 2007.

Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; GAA= Goals Against Average; SA= Shots Against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO= Shutouts

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blackhawks. Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks only.

‡Traded mid-season

Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Transactions
The Blackhawks have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

Trades

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Draft picks
The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was hosted at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec on June 26 and 27. The Blackhawks made a total of six picks.