It's Hammer Time! Happy Birthday Niklas Hjalmarsson! Celebrate One of Chicago's Favorite Champions With Highlight Reels and Life Moments!
Every team goes through that group of guys who you just LOVE. They're great teammates on the ice, and you can tell they're great friends off the ice, as well. They're the guys you wholeheartedly root for, laugh when they laugh, and cry when they cry. You also cry when one of them gets traded - just like Niklas Hjalmarsson.
«The Hammer» as he's more affectionately known, was a 4th round draft pick by Chicago in 2005 (108 overall), but he didn't start playing with the Hawks until 2007.
Born this day in 1987, the 35 year old is originally from Eksö, Sweden, and played professionally for 3 years in the Elitserien with HV71.
Upon his arrival in North America, he spend most of his first 2 seasons with Chicago's AHL team, the Rockford Icehogs, until James Wisniewski was traded to Anaheim.
On the road to becoming a key player, he scored his first NHL goal 16 seconds into the 4/11/09 game against Detroit.
From then on, he was pretty much a staple in the line-up. The next two seasons saw him in 77 and 80 games, respectively, and while he may not have had the most points on the team, everyone felt his presence.
He was so loved by the team, the fans, and the organization as a whole, that he became the first defenseman in 13 years to receive an offer sheet as a restricted free agent. On July 9, 2010, the San Jose Sharks got him to sign a 4-year $14 million offer sheet. It only took 3 days for the the Blackhawks to match it; even though keeping him meant losing the cap space for goalie Antti Niemi, who coincidentally ended up with the Sharks.
Keeping Hjalmarsson helped the Hawks to their 5th Stanley Cup, even after The Hammer's GWG was waived off.
After that Cup win, the 26 year old star signed a 5 year extension with the Hawks at $4.1 million per year. The Hawks' 2015 Cup win made him one of only seven players to be part of the 2010, 2013 and 2015 victories.
The 2016-17 season became his last in Chicago, with 18 points in 73 games (5G, 13A). The Hammer was headed to Arizona, where he wore the A for all 4 seasons, but accumulated only 29 points. In return, the Blackhawks received Connor Murphy (who they still have), and Laurent Dauphin (who is currently playing for the Canadiens).
On October 18, 2018, the Hawks welcomed him home:
And on July 25, 2021, the 34 year old retired after 14 NHL seasons.
Earlier this year, Chicago paid a special tribute to Hjalmarsson for all he's done for the team and the city, itself.
Niklas Hjalmarsson is just «one of those guys» and Chicago will be forever grateful to have him as part of their history.
| POLL | ||
Who won the Hammer trade? | ||
| Chicago | 52 | 47.7 % |
| Arizona | 57 | 52.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
