Eric Daze

When thinking back on Eric Daze, the words "what if . . . " come up a lot.

Daze, drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 4th round, 90th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, was a giant of the hockey arena, standing tall at 6’6″ and 222 pounds, even without his skates. The guy was as strong as a bull, although that left everyone just wanting more. He never backed down from anybody, but on too many nights he failed to initiate much on the physical end of things. As a result Daze always had his fair share of critics calling for a higher compete level from him.

Making him more impressive was his hand skills. He had the soft hands, for shooting and puckhandling, that are usually reserved for players much smaller than him. He had a strong shot without much of a back swing and enough dangle while carrying the puck to draw defenders to him, allowing him to slip the puck into the vacated space to a streaking teammate.

Big number 55 was hardly a speed-demon either, though in his era he had decent skating ability amongst the lumbering big men. He skated well enough to play alongside Alexei Zhamnov and Tony Amonte for some time in Chicago.

Ultimately, Daze never really fulfilled his potential. Even the biggest men in hockey can not effectively play through serious back injuries, and that is exactly what happened to Daze. Three times in 5 years he had surgeries to repair herniated discs in his back. But the multiple come back attempts always were met with constant pain.

As a result Daze played only 20 games in his final two seasons, even though he had taken a full year off in between those campaigns (due to the NHL lockout).

Daze played in 601 NHL games, scoring 226 goals and 172 assists for 398 points. Four times he topped the 30 goal mark, including in his best season, 2001-02 when he scored a career high 38 goals and 70 points.

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Denis Dejordy

When Denis Dejordy debuted in his first NHL game, he instantly became the answer of one of the most famous hockey trivia questions. That's because his first game was November 7, 1962, and it was the first time anyone other than the great Glenn Hall had tended the Chicago years. Hall of course played in an unthinkable  502 straight games!

Denis only got into 11 games in his first two years because of Hall's dominance. But Dejordy was no slouch either, as his years in the AHL suggest. He was a AHL All Star, MVP and top goalie in two years prior to arriving in Chicago.

Dejordy finally got a chance to play more regularly in 1964-65. He got into 30 games, and despite a 16-11-3 record including 3 shutouts and a 2.52 GAA, it wasn't enough. He was sent to the minors for the entire 1965-66 season.

Dejordy was recalled in 1966-67 and split the schedule with Hall, and the two shared the Vezina Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the league. Denis had a nice 22-12-7 record with 4 shutouts and 2.46 GAA Over the next two years Denis became more and more the number one goalie, playing over 50 games in each year, posting respectable though not outstanding numbers.

Early in the 1969-70 the Hawks traded Dejordy once Tony Esposito arrived and took over the number one job. He was traded with Gilles Marotte and Jim Stanfield to Los Angeles for Bill White, Bryan Campbell and Gerry Desjardins. He became the Kings number one goalie, but the team was very poor, and so were Dejordy's stats as a result.

Dejordy was traded to to Montreal during the 1971-72, but only got into 7 games as he became a backup to the great Ken Dryden.

In 1972-73 he was dealt to Detroit, playing 24 games, though struggling with a weak "Dead Wings" team. He only played one NHL game in 1973-74, despite starring in the minor leagues with the Baltimore Clippers. In fact, once again Dejordy became an all star at the AHL level, just like had over a decade earlier.

Denis retired after that season, having amassed a 124-127-51 record in 316 NHL games, including 15 shutouts.

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Stewart Adams

Calgarian Stewart Adams enjoyed a long professional career. In addition to 106 games in the NHL with the Chicago Black Hawks and Toronto Maple Leafs, Adams was a notable player for the Minnesota Millers of the AHA and later CHL.

Adams was acquired by the Hawks during the 1929-30 season and he would play most of the next three seasons there, although somewhat irregularly. It is unclear if this was due to injury or, perhaps more likely, just a lack of playing time. He scored 9 goals and 33 points in 85 games with the Hawks over that time.

The Leafs acquired Adams for the 1932-33 season, briefly replacing the injured Charlie Conacher on the vaunted Kid Line. Ultimately his career as a Leaf was undistinguished, picking up 2 assists in 19 games.

After his pro career was over Adams returned home to Calgary where he was a hockey legend. He had helped the Calgary Canadians junior team to three Memorial Cup tournaments in four years. He continued to play hockey in the senior leagues with the Calgary Tigers while also working at a local distillery.

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