Bobby Hull - The Golden Jet

Long before he joined the NHL, Bobby Hull was labeled a sure-fire NHL player. And he didn't disappoint anyone.

Although he didn't invent the slap shot, his uncanny accuracy and amazing power popularized the shot to this day. Goalies would cower when he wound up. Hull led the league in goal scoring in seven seasons. He scored an amazing 610 regular season goals, and over 300 more with the WHA's Jets. He was the first player to record more than 50 goals in one season (54); won the Art Ross Trophy three times, the Hart Trophy twice, the Lady Byng once, and the Lester Patrick Trophy once; Bobby also dominated all-star selections, being named to 10 first all-star teams, and 2 second teams. No wonder why Bobby is considered by many to be the best left winger in the history of the game.

Hull helped bring a Stanley Cup to Chicago, in 1961, as the Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings four games to two. Hull, in his first Stanley Cup Finals, scored two goals in Game One, including the game-winner. The Black Hawks went to the finals twice more, losing in 1962 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and in 1965 to the Montreal Canadiens.

Hull represents a link to another era, when pro sports weren't such big businesses, when the innocence of the sport fostered unabashed adoration of idols. Hull, the charismatic, goal-scoring goodwill ambassador who throughout the 1960's simply was the Chicago Blackhawks, takes us back to another day, when it was so much easier to be young at heart.

"We played just for the sheer enjoyment. We made a boyhood dream come true to play in the NHL," he said. "That's all we wanted to do, to stay there, play the game and enjoy it. Hopefully, the fans enjoyed it.

"We had to make our own fun," Hull recalled. "We stayed together. We went out after games together. On the road, we went out after games together. By the time game-time came around, we didn't have to get to know one another. We spent so much time together we were one unit."

His blonde good looks and sparkling charisma combined with his on ice speed and swagger earned him the nickname "The Golden Jet." Oddly enough, Hull would become a Jet when he signed with Winnipeg of the WHA. Hull became hockey's first millionaire, and the WHA gained instant credibility. The NHL was left shocked as one of their elite attractions walked away to play for another league. Ironically hockey's era of innocence which Hull still represents suffered a severe wake up call.

In Winnipeg he starred for years with Swedish stars Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson. The NHL was furious with his WHA signing and tried legal action to block the move, and then punished Hull by leaving him off of the 1972 Summit Series Team Canada squad. And ironically, it was Winnipeg that opened up the wallets and started handing out big contracts in an effort to lure some of the games top players. Ironic because Winnipeg would lose the NHL version of the Jets in 1996 because they couldn't compete economically.

When the WHA merged with the NHL in 1979, Hull ended up with the Hartford Whalers, where he played one final season. In 1981 Hull, who scored 303 goals in the WHA, attended the New York Rangers training camp as a 42 year old. The Rangers also had Hedberg and Nilsson and were looking to recapture some WHA magic, but it was not meant to be.

Hull was hockey's faster skater (28.3 mph with puck, 29.7 without it) and had the hardest shot (once reportedly recorded at 118.3 mph, some 35 mph above the league average). He was hockey's ultimate hockey player, blending together the talents of his most famed predecessors - the speed of Howie Morenz, the goal scoring prowress of Maurice Richard, the strength and control of Gordie Howe - plus the looks and charisma of a movie star. Hull did more than any other player to popularize the game of hockey in the United States prior to Wayne Gretzky.

Stan Mikita, Hull's long time teammate once was quoted as saying "To say that Bobby is a great hockey player is to labor the point. He was all of that of course. But the thing I admired about him was the way he handled people. He always enjoyed signing autographs for fans and was a genuine nice guy."

Bobby Hull was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1983. One day Bobby's son Brett will join him in the Hall. Brett was Bobby's equivalent during the late 1980's and 1990s, though was overshadowed by Wayne Gretzky.

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Denis Savard

Denis Savard is one of the most electrifying players in the history of hockey, and almost certainly the most exciting of his era. That is quite a claim considering Savard played in an era that boasted the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. The Great One and Super Mario left crowds wowed and thinking "Did I just see that?!" but they couldn't pull the fans out of their seat quite like Denis Savard.

Savard was one of the quickest players in the league, with tremendous one step acceleration. He was so fun to watch as he'd dart in and out of danger, rapidly change directions, and even perfect the "Savardian Spin-a-rama" in which he'd do a full 360 degree turn while carrying the puck to protect it from checkers. His great skating was complimented nicely by his incredibly soft hands. He could stickhandle through an entire team and was an excellent playmaker. He was also a very good shooter, particularly with his laser-like wrist shot. He was also known for taking bad angle shots. He was a puny player in terms of size but he had a solid center of gravity that made him tough to knock off the puck if you were lucky enough to catch him.

Savard would put all of those qualities together and leave defensemen dizzy and fans amazed!

"Denis is one of those players who is not only a great hockey player but a player with charisma," explained Bob Pulford, the long time general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks. "He's got that quality that keeps people coming out see him play."

Lou Nanne, then the general manager of the Hawks arch rival Minnesota North Stars, agreed.

"There just isn't a better skater in the league than Denis Savard. When Denis has the puck, he's got the ability to do a million things with it."

Of course Savard didn't think much of the idea that he was as much an entertainer as much as a hockey player. To him, he was just doing his job.

"I'm still surprised when people say I'm exciting to watch, even after all this time. Sometimes I'll try to put the puck between my legs or fake a pass, things like that. or maybe I spin a few times. It seems to make people talk. But mostly it's just instinct," Savard said. "I want to get the puck to a certain place, so I fake in and turn around on the defense because I feel the defense is confused. I don't do it to excite people. I know what I'm doing is different. I just don't know why."

Comparison's to the league's best player, Wayne Gretzky, were common.

"In my opinion, Savard is trickier than Gretzky. He moves better side to side than anybody in the league, and you never know what he will do when goes behind the net," said Vancouver Canuck goalie Richard Brodeur.

While comparison's to number 99 may be the ultimate compliment, style-wise, Savard and Gretzky were dissimilar. The essence of Savard's game is speed, agility and quickness. Gretzky' incomparable statistics have been attained mainly by an unmatched ability to foresee, comprehend and react to any given situation. Though he excelled alongside line mates Steve Larmer and Al Secord, Savard was more of a soloist than Gretzky.

"The Savardian spins and all the moves nobody else had . . . You can look at guys and try and learn their moves, but Denis was the inventor of the moves; he was the guy everyone else copied. In the middle of a play he'd come up with a new move. Just amazing," remembers coaching legend Dave King

Denis Savard was chosen by the Blackhawks' as their first-round pick (3rd overall) in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Many were shocked that Denis fell past number one, as the Montreal Canadiens held the first pick. Savard, a Quebec native from Point Gatineau, was a junior standout with the Montreal Jr. Canadiens, and everyone expected the Habs would take perhaps the most exciting junior francophone since Guy Lafleur. Instead, the Habs took Doug Wickenheiser, who had an even better junior season than Savard, but would prove to be an ultimate draft bust.

Savard broke into the league immediately after being drafted and showed he belong, scoring 28 goals and 75 points during his rookie season, and went on to post 119 points the following year, making him the second Blackhawk to score 100+ points in a single season. He was named to the NHL All-Star second team during the 1982-83 season, when he compiled 35 goals and 86 assists in 78 games. Though he played 7 all star games, it would be the only time he'd be honored as a post season All Star member due largely to the logjam of great centers in the 1980s.

Following his third 100+ point season in 1984-85, Savard tallied a career-high 47 goals during the 1985-86 campaign. He tallied career highs in assists (87) and points (131) during the 1987-88 season. His 131-point outburst in 1987-88 is a Blackhawk record and his 87 assist seasons in 1981-82 and 1987-88 are also Blackhawk records.

"Savard basically turned the Chicago franchise around," remembers former teammate Bob Murray. The Hawks had long been also-rans in the NHL power rankings. Not unlike Bobby Hull in the 1960s or Tony Esposito in the 1970s, Denis Savard was the identity of a proud franchise

Those were great days in Chicago, but playoff success was not part of the puzzle.

"I had great years in Chicago. We had a number of shots at winning the Stanley Cup in my first 10 years, but we lost in the semifinals five times. The Edmonton Oilers - by far the best team in hockey at the time - stopped us from getting the job done, but getting that far was still a great thrill," said Denis in Chris McDonell's book For The Love Of The Game.

Once Iron Mike Keenan arrived in the Windy City, Savard's days were numbered. The two did not see eye to eye. So in 1990, after 10 seasons as Mr. Chicago Blackhawks, Savard was traded to, ironically, the Montreal Canadiens for Chris Chelios in 1990.

While Chelios would become a true star in Chicago, Savard played three seasons for the Habs, compiling 179 points in 210 games, and more importantly winning the Stanley Cup in 1993. He wasn't nearly as dynamic as he was in his heyday, but he remained a serviceable player, creating a much needed offensive spark at times.

Savard extended his career with a short stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning before returning to Chicago in a late season trade in 1995. He helped spark the Blackhawks in the 1995 Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading the team with 7goals, 11 assists, and 18 points as they advanced to the Conference Finals.

Savard would hang up the blades after the 1996-97 season. He had posted some of the greatest offensive numbers ever seen. 473 goals and 865 assists for 1338 points in 1196 games was good enough to get him elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.

Had it not been for Wayne Gretzky, perhaps Denis Savard would be recognized as the most electrifying and dominant player of the 1980s. Regardless, he is recognized as a Legend of the Ice.

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Ed Belfour

Eddie Belfour will always be remembered in two ways. 1) As one of hockey's all time great goaltenders, and 2) as a prickly personality.

Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour has a tremendous resume with a Stanley Cup championship (1999), a Canada Cup title (1991), Olympic Gold Medal (2002), 2 Vezina trophies, 4 Jennings trophies, 1 Calder, 484 career wins (3rd best all time), 76 shutouts (9th all time).

As he enters the Hockey Hall of Fame now it is hard believe Belfour almost never made it to the NHL. He was undrafted out of the University of North Dakota. But Belfour, a devoted disciple of Vladislav Tretiak (hence jersey number 20), was hockey's most determined man.

That determination not only got him a chance at the NHL, but carried him to one hockey's greatest careers and now all the way to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

For all his popularity for what he accomplished on the ice, Eddie Belfour was misunderstood as one of hockey's bad guys off of it.

"Eddie was a unique teammate. Socially, he probably wasn't real tight with anybody, but we all admired the seriousness he took at this position. He prepared himself. He was the first guy there and the last guy to leave," Joe Nieuwendyk told ESPN.com.

Belfour's legendary determination often meant needed solitary focus to be at his best. If things were not quite to his liking, his rough edges would show, including temper tantrums on and off the ice.

"But we accepted it because we knew the type of goalie that we had," Nieuwendyk continued."We knew the competitor he was. He was maybe the best biggest-game goaltender I ever played with."

Nieuwendyk would know. The two were instrumental in Dallas' Stanley Cup victory in 1999. Nieuwendyk may have won the Conn Smythe Trophy and Brett Hull may have scored the famous (infamous?) goal but think about what Belfour had to do. In the 1999 playoffs Belfour beat Grant Fuhr, Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek to win the Stanley Cup.

ESPN's Scott Burnside may have said it best when he said:

"Whatever the motivation was -- the desire to prove people wrong, the desire to be loved or needed -- Belfour focused all of his energies into preparing to win. And though he was demanding of his teammates, he saved his greatest demands for himself."

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