Remembering Stosh on his 82nd Birthday
Arguably one of, if not the greatest player in Chicago Blackhawks history, would have celebrated his 82nd Birthday May 20. Stan Mikita passed away on Aug 7, 2018 after a four-year battle with Lewy body dementia, a progressive disease that causes problems with thinking, movement, behavior and mood. He was also found to have CTE at the time of his death, a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head.
Mikita, who played a franchise high 1,396 games from 1958-80, leads the Blackhawks in points (1,467), assists (926) and power play points (462), and is second in goals (541) and game-winning goals (84) and third in power play goals (150). His 1,467 points rank 15th in NHL history.
Mikita, who won the Stanley Cup in 1961, won the Hart Trophy twice as League MVP, four Art Ross trophies as the league's leading scorer and the Lady Byng twice as the most gentlemanly player. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.
On October 19, 1980, No. 21 became the first number to be retired in Blackhawks history.
Mikita designed his own helmet when many players were hesitant to don one and was a pioneer of curving the blade of his stick, as well. He ended his career with 541 goals, good for the No. 32 spot on the league's all-time list. He was also immortalized in the 1992 cult classic Wayne's World, in which he was the namesake of a hockey-themed coffee shop.
Decades after having his number retired by the Hawks, Mikita was further honored by the franchise with a statue outside of the United Center alongside one of teammate Bobby Hull as well as Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan. During the NHL's centennial celebration in 2017, the career Hawk was named one of the league's 100 greatest players.
| POLL | ||
Who is the greatest Blackhawk of all-time? | ||
| Stan Mikita | 87 | 47 % |
| Bobby Hull | 73 | 39.5 % |
| Pierre Pilote | 25 | 13.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
