One of the original six team in the NHL, the Blackhawks have had thirty-four captains in their history, with some being big names and others being mere footnotes in history. So, as to not make this article too long, I will divide this piece into time frames and list players who have been captain in those times.
Pre-World War II years and World War II
The first team captain was Dick Irvin (1926-29), who was followed in consecutive seasons by Duke Dukowski, Ty Arbour, Cy Wentworth, Helge Bostrom, and Charlie Gardner. After a season of not having a captain, Johnny Gottselig was named captain and held it from 1935-40. The World War II years saw Earl Siebert (1940-42), Doug Bentley (1942-44 and again in 1949-50), and Clint Smith (1944-45) hold the captaincy.
Post-World War II through the 60's
The latter half of the 40's saw John Mariucci (1945-46 and 1947-48), Red Hamill (1946-47), Gaye Stewart (1948-49), and Bentley wear the C for a season each. The 1950's were relatively stable, with Jack Stewart (1950-52), Bill Gadsby (1952-54), and Gus Mortson (1954-57) in the role of captain before the team went without a captain in the 1957-58 season. Ed Litzenberger was captain from 1958 to 1961, when the role went to Pierre Pilote, who from 1961 to 1968, is the team's longest serving captain in history. After Pilote, the team went without a captain for a season before Pat Stapleton was named captain for the 1969-70 season.
70's to 2000
The beginning of the 70's had the Blackhawks go without a captain for the first half of the decade, which ended in the 1975-76 season, when Pit Martin was named captain. The following year, Martin shared the duties with Stan Mikita and Keith Magnuson. Magnuson would gain sole possession of the role in 1977 and hold it until 1979, when Terry Ruskowski would be named captain from 1979-82. Darryl Sutter would be captain from 1982 to 1987, with Bob Murray having a share of the captaincy in the 1985-86 season. The 1987-88 season went without a captain before Denis Savard held the role the following season. His trade to Montreal after the season opened the door for Dirk Graham, who would be captain from 1989-95. His retirement would lead the way for Chris Chelios to be named captain from 1995-99, when his trade to Detroit signified a new captain for the 1999-2000 season in Doug Gilmour.
2000 to present
Until the last few years, the Blackhawks had experienced some major lows, and it reflects in the captaincy of this decade. The decade began with Tony Amonte holding the captain's C from 2000-02, when he left after the 2001-02 season in free agency. 2002-04 was Alexei Zhamnov's turn with the C, and he didn't look too comfortable with the role. 2005-07 had Adrian Aucoin as captain, with Martin Lapointe holding the C briefly in 2006. The 2007-08 season saw the Blackhawks go without a captain again. Currently, Jonathan Toews is the team captain, having held it since 2008.
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