The 1978–79 Chicago Black Hawks season was the 53rd season of operation of the
Chicago Black Hawks
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
. The club was coming off a first-place finish in the
Smythe Division
The NHL's Smythe Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Conn Smythe, who was a longtime owner, general manager, and head coach in the leagu ...
in
1977-78. In the
1978 Stanley Cup playoffs
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
, the Black Hawks were swept by the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
in four games in the quarter-finals.
Offseason
The Black Hawks had a very quiet off-season, however, Chicago did acquire goaltender 21-year-old goaltender
Murray Bannerman
Murray Bannerman (born April 27, 1957) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. He spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, though also briefly played for the Vancouver Canucks, who selected him in the 1977 NHL amateur dr ...
from the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
to complete an earlier trade that sent
Pit Martin
Hubert Jacques "Pit" Martin (December 9, 1943 – November 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who served as captain for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1975 to 1977. He was an NHL All-Star and B ...
to the Canucks. Bannerman spent the previous season with the
Fort Wayne Komets
The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League, the original Inte ...
of the
IHL, and did appear in a game with Vancouver, allowing no goals in a period of action.
In a couple of minor trades, Chicago traded away
Pierre Plante
Pierre Renald Plante (born May 14, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 599 National Hockey League (NHL) games for the Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers and Quebec Nordique ...
to the
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...
to complete an earlier deal, and in a separate trade, Chicago traded
Thomas Gradin
Thomas Kjell Gradin (born February 18, 1956) is a Swedish associate head scout for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) and a former professional ice hockey centre who played in the NHL and the Swedish Elite League (SEL) fro ...
to the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
for the Canucks second round draft pick in the
1980 NHL Entry Draft
The 1980 NHL Entry Draft was the 18th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum. This was the first time that an NHL arena hosted the draft.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.241, Published in Canada by Doubleda ...
.
Regular season
Chicago opened the season with a six-game unbeaten streak, going 3-0-3, before suffering their first loss. The Hawks would struggle after their hot start, as Chicago saw their record fall to 17-24-9 at the start of February, however, despite their poor record, the Black Hawks were in first place in the
Smythe Division
The NHL's Smythe Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Conn Smythe, who was a longtime owner, general manager, and head coach in the leagu ...
. The Black Hawks turned their fortunes around in their next 14 games, going 8-3-3, putting their record at 25-27-12, with 62 points, 14 ahead of the second place
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
. Chicago then fell into an eight-game winless streak (0-7-1), but still held a 10-point lead. Chicago then finished the season with a 29-36-15 record, earning 73 points, and winning the
Smythe Division
The NHL's Smythe Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Conn Smythe, who was a longtime owner, general manager, and head coach in the leagu ...
for the second season in a row, and seventh division title in the past ten seasons.
Offensively, the Black Hawks were led by
Ivan Boldirev
Ivan Boldirev (Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Болдирев; born August 15, 1949) is a Serbian Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Boldirev played fifteen seasons and over 1000 games in the NHL from 1970 through 1985. Boldirev was not ...
, who led the club with 29 goals and 64 points in 66 games.
Stan Mikita
Stanley Mikita (born Stanislav Guoth; May 20, 1940 – August 7, 2018) was a Slovak-born Canadian ice hockey player for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 2017, he was n ...
had 19 goals and a team high 36 assists for 55 points to finish second in team scoring. Defenceman
Bob Murray scored 19 goals and 51 points to lead the Black Hawks blueline. Defenceman
Dave Logan had a team high 175 penalty minutes, while winger
Ted Bulley
Edward Harvey Bulley (born March 25, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player.
Drafted in 1975 by both the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League and the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association, Bulley played ...
led Chicago with a +18 rating.
In goal,
Tony Esposito
Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito (April 23, 1943 – August 10, 2021) was a Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 15 of those for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of t ...
saw the majority of playing time, going 24-28-11 with a 3.27 GAA, while earning four shutouts.
Final standings
Game log
Playoffs
Since the Hawks won their division, they were given a bye in the NHL Preliminary Round, and advanced straight to the NHL quarter-finals. Their first round opponent was the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
, who finished with the best record in the
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
, going 51-15-14, earning 116 points and winning the
Patrick Division
The Patrick Division is a former division of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division moved to the Prince of Wales Conference in 1981. The division existed for 19 seasons unt ...
. The series opened with two games at
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...
on
Long Island, New York
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...
, with the Islanders, led by a
Mike Bossy
Michael Dean Bossy (January 22, 1957April 15, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He spent his entire NHL career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, with the Islanders, and ...
hat trick, easily defeated Chicago 6-2. The second game was decided in overtime, after the two teams played through three scoreless periods. The Islanders
Mike Bossy
Michael Dean Bossy (January 22, 1957April 15, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He spent his entire NHL career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, with the Islanders, and ...
scored his fourth goal of the series in overtime to give New York the 1-0 victory, and a 2-0 series lead. Black Hawks goaltender
Tony Esposito
Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito (April 23, 1943 – August 10, 2021) was a Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 15 of those for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of t ...
made 39 saves in the loss, while Islanders goaltender
Billy Smith stopped all 22 shots he faced. The series moved to
Chicago Stadium
Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls.
...
for the next two games. In the third game, the Islanders once again shutout the Black Hawks, this time with goaltender
Chico Resch
Glenn Allan "Chico" Resch (born July 10, 1948) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey goaltender and television sportscaster. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1973 to 1987, and won a Stanley Cup with the New York ...
making 21 saves for the shutout, as New York defeated the Hawks 4-0 to take a 3-0 series lead. The Islanders would complete the sweep in the fourth game, winning 3-1, and sending the Blackhawks to their sixteenth consecutive playoff loss.
New York Islanders 4, Chicago Black Hawks 0
Player stats
Regular season
;Scoring
;Goaltending
Playoffs
;Scoring
;Goaltending
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;
Awards and records
Transactions
Draft picks
Chicago's draft picks at the
1978 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1978 NHL Amateur Draft was the 16th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 15, 1978. It was the last draft to be called the "Amateur Draft" before the process was renamed to the NHL Entry Dra ...
held at the
Queen Elizabeth Hotel
Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth (french: Fairmont Le Reine Élizabeth) is a historic grand hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With 950 rooms and 21 floors it is the largest hotel in the province of Quebec, and the second largest Fairmont hotel in ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
Farm teams
See also
*
1978–79 NHL season
The 1978–79 NHL season was the 62nd season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals four games to one for their fourth consecutive Cup. The Cleveland Barons merged with the Minneso ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:1978-79 Chicago Black Hawks season
Chicago Blackhawks seasons
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
Smythe Division champion seasons