Blackhawks Legend Glenn Hall Passes Away At Age 94
Tragic news has come through the hockey world. Legendary goaltender Glenn Hall has passed away at the age of 94, per an NHL press release. Hall played four seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, four seasons with the St. Louis Blues, and 10 seasons with the Chicago Black Hawks. He won one Stanley Cup and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975.
Few hockey careers were as prolific as Hall’s. He earned the monichre ‘Mr. Goalie’ by the end of his career, in part thanks to how consistent of a presence he was in net. Hall rarely missed a game, setting an NHL record for 502 consecutive starts (552 including playoffs) between the start of his career in 1955 and his eighth season in 1962. That stretch spanned a move from the Red Wings to the Black Hawks and saw Hall play more than 30,000 minutes of hockey.
Even more impressive, Hall acheived the record without wearing a mask, which wasn’t popularized until Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender Jacques Plante took up the protective gear in 1959. Hall wouldn’t wear a mask until November 1968, at the age of 37. He allowed a goal on one of the first few shifts of that game and earned an ejection on the very next shift. Ironically, Plante was the one to replace Hall. The duo of Hall-of-Fame goaltenders would go on to combine for 13 shutouts and collectively won the Vezina Trophy.
He earned attention for much more than his propensity for playing every game, and not wearing a mask. His career began with the Humboldt Indians and Windsor Spitfires of Ontario’s early junior leagues. He signed with the Red Wings in 1949, while in juniors, and spent his first pro year in 1951 assigned to the AHL’s Indianapolis Capitals. Hall played 68 games for the Capitals and got called-up to fill Detroit’s backup position for the 1952 postseason behind Terry Sawchuk. He didn’t appear in a single game but still had his name placed on the Cup by the Red Wings.
Hall, already decorated as a Cup-champion, finally usurped Sawchuk in 1955, when the latter was traded to the Boston Bruins. His rookie season kicked off Hall’s run of consecutive games. He recorded 30 wins and a .925 save in 70 games – enough to take home the 1955 Calder Trophy. Those numbers grew to 38 wins and a .928 save percentage, both league-bests, in his second season. He was named a first-team all-star – then, a way of being named the top goalie.
Despite that status, the Red Wings aimed to find a way to bring back Sawchuk, prompting one of the NHL’s great blockbusters. Detroit sent Hall and forward Ted Lindsay – a veteran of 14 seasons in Detroit – to the Black Hawks in exchange for Bill Preston, Forbes Kennedy, Johnny Wilson, and Hank Bassen.
Hall’s status as one of the league’s best goaltenders continued through his days in Chicago, though his stat line took an initial hit on a club near the bottom of the standings. Hall recorded the most losses in the league in 1957-58, with 39, but still finished the season fifth in Hart Trophy voting. He reduced that to 29 losses in 1958-59, though did lead the league with 208 goals allowed that year. Despite a rocky first two seasons, Hall climbed back to a save percentage north of .915 in his third year, sparking a run of all-star bids that would stretch through the next 11 seasons, save for one year.
Hall became the core piece of a true turnover in Chicago. He began with the club as a proven 26-year-old playing next to a rookie Bobby Hull and bruisers like Eric Nesterenko. 10 seasons later, he was backing the likes of Stan Mikita, Phil Esposito, and Dennis Hull (and, still, Nesterenko). That run came to a close in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, when Chicago protected 28-year-old Denis DeJordy over Hall. The veteran would go to the St. Louis Blues with the third-overall pick, after Sawchuk and Bernie Parent were selected with the first two picks.
The Blues would go on to make the Stanley Cup Finals in their first three seasons, largely thanks to Hall’s continued dominance. That run ended in one of the most iconic moments in NHL history, when legendary defenseman Bobby Orr scored his famous “flying goal” on Hall to clinch the 1970 Stanley Cup in overtime. Hall played one more season but called his career to a close in 1971. He ended with 618 games played, 276 wins, a .916 save percentage, and a 2.60 goals-against-average.
More to come…
Jack Johnson Announces Retirement
Salary cap limitations prevented the Avalanche from re-signing Johnson the following year, but they subsequently acquired him again at the trade deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks. He experienced a brief offensive resurgence with Colorado during the 2023-24 season, before ultimately finishing his career with Columbus last season. He briefly attempted to make the Minnesota Wild’s roster last September, though he didn’t make the roster.
Bob Pulford Passes Away
Hall-of-Fame player and executive Bob Pulford has passed away, the NHL Alumni Association said. He was 89 years old.
An Ontario native, Pulford is one of the most integral figures in franchise history for his hometown team. He spent his playing days as a center and left winger after breaking into the league with the Maple Leafs in 1956-57, eventually becoming a five-time All-Star and one of the top penalty-killing forwards of the late Original Six era.
More than 55 years after Pulford played his last game for the Leafs, he still ranks quite high on the franchise leaderboard. He’s seventh in games played (947), 11th in goals (251), and 11th in points (563). He led Toronto with 10 assists in 12 playoff games in the Leafs’ last Stanley Cup victory in 1967, the fourth and final title of his career after winning three straight with the Leafs from 1962-64.
Pulford was traded to the Kings in 1970 and spent the final two seasons of his career in Los Angeles. While his offensive production wasn’t at its peak, he captained the Kings in his final season as a player in 1971-72 before beginning his arguably more impactful off-ice career as their head coach the following season.
As the sixth head coach for the Kings in their first six seasons, Pulford oversaw the team’s first sustained period of relevance. He posted a 178-150-68 record (.535) over five regular seasons, winning Coach of the Year honors in 1975 and beginning a streak of nine consecutive playoff appearances that still stands as a franchise record.
In 1977, the Blackhawks tabbed Pulford to serve as both their head coach and GM. That hiring would kick off a 30-year run for Pulford in Chicago – during which time he was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player as part of the class of 1991 – that saw the franchise make the playoffs 22 times.
His roles were varied. Pulford had four separate stints as the Hawks’ head coach (1977-79, 1981-82, 1984-87, 1999-00), often taking over as the interim boss midseason when someone was fired. Those often overlapped with four stints as GM (1977-90, 1992-97, 1999-00, 2003-05). When he wasn’t either of those things, he served as the club’s senior VP of hockey operations until he transitioned to working for the Hawks’ parent company in 2007, no longer directly affiliated with the team.
Pulford was also the first head of the NHLPA, elected to the role in 1967 and holding it until Ken Dryden took over presidential duties in 1972.
All of us at PHR send our condolences to the Pulford family and the many in the hockey community who worked with him.
Bedard (Shoulder) Resumes Shooting Drills
- Blackhawks center Connor Bedard has taken the next step in recovery from a shoulder injury as Mark Lazerus of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that he has resumed doing shooting drills. The 20-year-old was injured taking a faceoff around three weeks ago and remains out indefinitely. Before the injury, Bedard had gotten off to a very strong start to his season with 15 goals and 29 assists in just 31 games, setting himself up nicely with his contract expiring at the end of June.
Blackhawks Assign Dominic Toninato To AHL
Saturday: Toninato’s promotion was short-lived as the team announced that he has been sent back to Rockford. The Blackhawks now have one open spot on their active roster.
Wednesday: Earlier this afternoon, the Blackhawks announced that Dominic Toninato has been recalled from AHL Rockford. Toninato is on the move again after being sent down just two days ago, where he did not yet make an appearance back with Rockford. The forward got into five games for Chicago throughout December, notching one assist on 9:12 a night. No corresponding transaction is required.
Now 31, the former fifth-round choice of Toronto signed with Chicago on a two-year, two-way contract, able to produce at a high level in the AHL and be a trustworthy depth option to call upon when needed. Originally unsigned by the Maple Leafs, Toninato latched on with Colorado eight years ago upon conclusion of his collegiate career. After short stints there, and in Florida, he stuck around in the Winnipeg organization for the past five years, spending most of his time in the AHL.
At 6’2”, Toninato brings a mostly defensive skillset to the highest level, with just 36 points in 194 career NHL games. Meanwhile, he is a true standout in the AHL, with 17 points in 25 games, good for third best on the IceHogs. Players in such a mold are not necessarily the most exciting call ups, but the ability to fill in, not needing development and not being a likely waiver threat, is valuable to any club.
The Blackhawks are back in action tomorrow, playing host to Dallas. Forward Jason Dickinson left in last night’s shootout loss to the Islanders, and Toninato figures to be an insurance policy if he’s unable to go. The veteran will likely find himself back in the AHL shortly, but in the meantime he will enjoy a nice salary boost and try to help the struggling Connor Bedard-missing Hawks pick up a big divisional win tomorrow night.
The Blackhawks Already Have A Top Line Winger On The Way
Since the Blackhawks selected Connor Bedard first overall in 2023, the most glaring holes on their depth chart have been the two wing spots next to him.
Bedard’s most common linemates at 5-on-5 in year one were Nick Foligno and Philipp Kurashev. In year two, amid a never-ending rotation, Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev eked out the honors.
This year, it’s André Burakovsky and rookie Ryan Greene. The 20-year-old’s continued emergence into a top-tier superstar and increased defensive commitment this season have helped fuel a resurgence for the former, with Burakovsky’s nine goals and 23 points in 34 games on pace for his highest totals in three years. Greene, only one year older than Bedard, is up to 14 points in 39 games after a recent hot streak.
Of course, Bedard’s 44 points on the year are still nearly twice what his best support man, Burakovsky, has posted, despite missing the last several games with a shoulder injury. While Chicago’s early hot start offered some promise, it’s clear now that was a Spencer Knight-fueled mirage as they’ve slipped back to being one point out of last place. As for Bedard and his support system, the talent gap has never been more apparent – even Kurashev and Donato finished within spitting distance for the team lead in points in 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively.
With a top-two pick spent on Artyom Levshunov and an elite young netminder acquired in Knight, Chicago has stars lined up at every position – except for Bedard’s linemates, if only looking at the NHL roster for the past few years is any indication.
In reality, the pieces to complete an era-defining forward line for the Hawks are already in place and won’t necessarily require the big free-agent splash that some were hoping for this year or last. One of them comes down to a math problem. In the early stages of their careers, Chicago has preferred to keep Frank Nazar separate from Bedard at 5-on-5 and have them each center their own lines. That’s largely worked out well with Nazar on a 52-point pace in his second NHL season.
Center Anton Frondell is on the way as well after being drafted third overall last year. With 10 goals and 15 points in 25 games for Djurgårdens IF in a challenging European pro environment in the SHL, he will almost certainly be a top-six option for the Blackhawks in 2026-27. Neither he, Bedard, nor Nazar is suited for third-line duties long-term. One of them will slot in on Bedard’s wing next season.
The premise of this article could all be for naught if the Hawks end up with another lottery pick in this year’s draft. Their selection would almost undoubtedly be either Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg, both wingers with the skill level to drop in as a Bedard running mate out of camp. But if the balls don’t bounce their way, there’s an in-house candidate who will likely get a shot with a mix of Bedard, Frondell, and Nazar next fall.
Roman Kantserov has long been overlooked as an impact piece. Perhaps that’s simply because Chicago’s wealth of draft picks over the past several years has created one of the deepest pools in recent memory.
The 2023 second-round pick wasn’t viewed as much of a draft steal at the time. He was the 16th-ranked European skater by NHL Central Scouting, and only one major public scouting service had him as a late first-rounder (some even had him in the third).
No longer can he be ignored. Fast forward three years, and the 21-year-old is already a champion and an All-Star in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, a top-three competition in the world. Even that doesn’t give proper credence to what the undersized but extremely high-motor winger has brought to the table this season. With a 26-19–45 scoring line in 38 games, he’s third in the KHL in scoring and is first in pure goal-scoring. If that holds, he will break Kirill Kaprizov‘s record as the youngest single-season goal-scoring leader, albeit only by a few months.
McKeen’s Hockey tabbed Kantserov as the No. 8 prospect in the Hawks’ pool entering the season and profiled him as a “high-energy, third-line grinder with the potential to contribute offensively.” He’s answered the bell on the last part of that sentence as best as he possibly can before making the jump from Russia. Pairing two sub-6’0″ players on a top line may be an area of concern, but his pace and physicality make him a near-perfect stylistic complement for Bedard, with his historic overseas production suggesting he boasts much more upward mobility in their lineup than some thought.
Kantserov is in the final season of his contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Technically, his contractual obligations won’t conclude until May 31, but KHL clubs have shown some degree of willingness to release players a few weeks early – assuming their season is over – to sign NHL entry-level contracts. Whether that’s something Chicago wants to pursue to get Kantserov in the lineup for the final few games of the regular season remains to be seen. It should be a foregone conclusion, though, that he will be given a lengthy runway to add his name to Chicago’s long list of young, NHL-ready stars come September.
Toninato Assigned To AHL
The Blackhawks announced that they’ve assigned center Dominic Toninato back to AHL Rockford. Recalled three weeks ago, the 31-year-old got into five games with Chicago while on recall, picking up an assist and ten hits in 9:12 per game of playing time. Toninato has been much more productive with the IceHogs, notching five goals and 12 assists in 24 games with them. With his assignment, the Blackhawks now have an open roster spot. Don’t expect that spot to go to Connor Bedard, however, as while he returned to the ice today per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, it was a light skate and there remains no firm timetable for his return.
Blackhawks Place Frank Nazar On IR, Activate Nick Foligno
The Chicago Blackhawks have activated captain Nick Foligno off of injured reserve. He is expected to return to the lineup on Sunday night for his first game since November 15th, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio. To make room for Foligno’s return, the Blackhawks have moved winger Frank Nazar to injured reserve. Nazar has already missed one week, and is expected to miss three more, with a face injury caused by a Claude Giroux slapshot in Chicago’s December 20th loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Getting Foligno back will be a wave of relief for the Blackhawks. The 38-year-old winger scored six points, all assists, in 15 games before going down with injury. He also added 11 shot blocks and 41 hits – high enough marks to rank Foligno fourth in hits-per-game, and first in blocks-per-game, on Chicago’s offense despite missing the last 19 games. It will be play away from the puck that Foligno impacts most in his return, which should clear up more space for Chicago’s skill players, like Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Lardis, to focus on offense.
The Blackhawks will have to hope that;s the case, at least. They have split results in two games since Nazar’s injury and were outscored four-to-six. Nazar has been a focal piece of the offense all season long – a role that only increased when star Connor Bedard went down with an injury of his own. The second-year pro has scored 21 points in 33 games in the elevated role, good for fourth on Chicago in scoring.
That comes despite the fact that Nazar rode a six-game point drought and 21-game goal drought through November and December. He has proven to be an offensive motor that Chicago can’t easily replace. Foligno’s return will bring in more helping hands but Chicago will still face a tough test with games against the New York Islanders, Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, and Vegas Golden Knights in their near future.
Blackhawks Recall Landon Slaggert
When the Blackhawks assigned goaltender Laurent Brossoit to the minors after he cleared waivers, they opened up a roster spot that they elected not to fill right away. However, they’ve decided that filling it after the holiday break made sense as the team announced that they have recalled winger Landon Slaggert from AHL Rockford.
It’s the second recall of the season for the 23-year-old who is in the first season of a two-year, one-way contract worth $900K per season. Slaggert started the season on injured reserve, missing a handful of games before being activated. He got into four games before being sent down to the IceHogs to get some more playing time. He was then brought up in mid-November for a few weeks but again, playing time was somewhat limited, leading to his reassignment three weeks ago. Overall, he has one goal in ten games with Chicago this season while averaging just 9:04 of ice time per contest.
Slaggert has been a bit more productive in Rockford. He has played in eight games with them this season, picking up two goals and two assists. However, that production is down in pace from last season when he collected 10 goals and 15 helpers in just 39 contests. With his recall, Chicago’s roster is now full at 23 players.
Snapshots: Grzelcyk, Vatrano, Liljegren
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Matt Grzelcyk was fined $2,604.17 by the NHL Department of Player Safety for cross-checking Ottawa Senators’ center Tim Stutzle on Saturday. It is the maximum allowable fine under the CBA for this infraction. Grzelcyk cross-checked Stutzle in the face during a scrum in front of the net and was awarded a double-minor penalty. He will avoid suspension for the incident, allowing him to stick in a true utility role for the Blackhawks. Grzelcyk has averaged over 20 minutes of ice time in his last five games, far above the 16 minutes he’s averaged across the full season. He’s a veteran two-way defender with six points, all assists, and a plus-three in 35 games this season.
Other quick notes from around the league:
- Anaheim Ducks forward Frank Vatrano was also fined $5,000 by the NHL DPS for unsportsmanlike conduct against Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson. Vatrano ragdolled Robertson after a shoving match in front of the net turned into a scrum on the boards. He has 34 penalty minutes in 35 games this season, to go with only five points and a minus-11. This news will keep Vatrano in a daily, depth role for the Ducks.
- The San Jose Sharks could be without defenseman Timothy Liljegren when they face the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. Liljegren was designated as day-to-day and doubtful for Tuesday due to an upper-body injury, per Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News. Liljegren has averaged top-line minutes over in 28 games this season, though he only has four assists and a minus-10 on the year. Still, the 26 year old has stepped into an important, veteran role on a young Sharks lineup. He’ll be tough to replace, but rookie defender Sam Dickinson and depth defender Vincent Iorio could be the one to benefit from the need for a bigger presence.