Puckdoku Profiles: 2 Blackhawks Nemeses; 100 Point Scorers

Puckdoku featured the Blackhawks yesterday and wouldn’t you know, a few of the teams hit. So today, it’ll be a little bit different in terms of who is profiled.

The Blackhawks have certainly seen their share of tussles with players through the years. Fans certainly have their targets of derision, too.

Today’s Puckdoku profiles will only feature a couple of players plus a Blackhawks factoid that includes multiple players.

The first player? I can hear the chant as I type his name.

Nemesis #1: Dino Ciccarelli

It was when I was working a part-time job in retail that I learned about the the origins of hatred that was aimed at Dino Ciccarelli. It was explained to me that the Detroit Sucks evolved from the Dino Sucks chant that would echo from the furthest corners of the old Chicago Stadium. Ciccarelli was well traveled enough in his career but the venom spewed from Chicago fans when he was on the ice was legendary. It was the Minnesota North Stars and Ciccarelli who were hated like the Bad Boys Detroit Pistons in basketball.

Where did he play: Minnesota North Stars; Washington Capitals; Detroit Red Wings; Tampa Bay Lightning; Florida Panthers

Nemesis #2: Raffi Torres

There’s one hit that forever made Torres one of the most hated men in the Chicago sports history. The hit on Marian Hossa during the 2012 Western Conference quarterfinal series ended Hossa’s season and earned Torres, a serial head hunter, a 25-game suspension. Then department of player safety czar Brendan Shanahan clearly outlined why Torres earned himself over a quarter of a season’s worth of missed games.

It was a classless hit, and it wouldn’t be the last time. Some players have highlight reel goals. Torres’ reel in that video from Shanahan shows the countless number of times Torres blasted opponents with a high hit to the head. He wasn’t discriminatory, however. He’d serve a 41-game suspension in 2015 after a head hit on Anaheim’s Jakob Silfverberg. It was his fifth suspension as a result, with that one being the heaviest.

That hit would finally put Torres’ career to pasture.

Where did he play: New York Islanders; Edmonton Oilers; Columbus Blue Jackets; Buffalo Sabres; Vancouver Canucks; Arizona Coyotes; San Jose Sharks (Was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs but never played a game for them)

Bonus Stats – 100 Point Seasons

It’s been 12 times that a Chicago Blackhawks player hit the century mark in points. Here’s a run down and apologies to Troy Murray who fell short by one point in 1985-86 (45-54-99):

• Denis Savard (5 times)
• Jeremy Roenick (3 times)
• Patrick Kane (2 times)
• Bobby Hull (1 time)
• Steve Larmer (1 time)

Previous Puckdoku Profiles: July 12  (Denis DeJordy; Sergei Krivokrasov; Paul Coffey) | July 13 (Eddie Olczyk, Marc Bergevin, Bob Sauvé)