Hull, Mikita right where they belong

If there was one thing bigger than Bobby Hull's slap shot when he was the prince of the city with the Blackhawks during the 1960s and early '70s, it was that smile.

Today the million-dollar smile is back on the face of the most charismatic player in Hawks history thanks to new chairman Rocky Wirtz and president John McDonough, who have righted too many years of wrong by inviting Hull and Stan Mikita back into the family as club ambassadors.

Hull and Mikita will be formally welcomed back tonight at the United Center in what promises to be a stirring ceremony before the Hawks take on the San Jose Sharks.

Hull considers himself returning from more than 30 years in so-called exile that followed his defection to the World Hockey Association following the 1971-72 season.

He stayed away all these years because he said that's how late owner Bill Wirtz and former senior vice president Bob Pulford wanted it.

"For a long while I felt I was an outcast, but I guess if I had left and cost an organization a billion dollars I'd be upset too," Hull said Wednesday.

Hull called it business and not personal, his decision to leave the Hawks for the Winnipeg Jets for the $2.75 million (including a $1 million signing bonus) then-owner Arthur Wirtz wouldn't pay him.

"I didn't want to leave Chicago, but they kind of backed me into a corner and I made a decision," Hull said. "They were businessmen and they gambled I wouldn't go. When they found out I did go, I think they were likely sorry it happened because things were never the same with me, never the same with the Chicago Blackhawks and never the same with the Chicago fans from that time until maybe recently."

Several times Hull claimed he tried to reach out to the Hawks to patch things up but was met with only resistance.

"I guess it was because of the hardheadedness of the people that ran the team prior to Rocky taking over," Hull said. "I was over here several times with Billy and Peter (Wirtz) and tried to show how I could help them put people in the building, but they didn't like my way of thinking on how to get it done, so it never went anywhere.

"It was just a plan to get the people back in the building by them having a press conference saying that Bobby Hull was back in the fold, just as Rocky and John have done."

While it might have been only business on Hull's part to leave Chicago, keeping him out of the organization became personal on many levels to Bill Wirtz and Pulford.

Not once, not twice, but three times the Hawks had the opportunity to bring Hull's son, future Hall of Famer Brett Hull, into the organization only to take pass on each occasion.

"It would have been a great ploy for the Chicago Blackhawks to have Brett here," Hull said. "They didn't want him because I don't think Mr. Pulford likes me and I don't think he wanted Brett Hull here because he knew I'd be around a little too much."

If Hull's strained relationship with the former people in charge stemmed from his bolting for the WHA, Mikita called his situation different, although it's no secret he also had his problems with Pulford.

"We left when they didn't want us," Mikita said. "I don't think either one of us would ever force ourselves in the dressing room.

"Bobby maybe wasn't wanted for what happened because he split from the team, but when you look at the bottom line there he wasn't after the money. There was something somebody didn't like about the name Hull. Let's take it further, we could have had Brett, too."

Hawks coach Denis Savard and his players are thrilled to have Hull and Mikita around, even though many of the present players never saw them play.

"They're icons, let's face it," Savard said. "I think players realize where they are today financially, they made it happen for us and I think they have a lot of respect for that -- not that they were just great Blackhawks, but they set the tone for everybody.

Hull popped into the team lunch Wednesday afternoon at the United Center and left some Hawks star-struck.

"Obviously we know they're legendary players," Duncan Keith said. "It's nice to see them around a little more. It's great for the team, the fans and the organization."

It was one of the first things McDonough did after becoming president, working to get the likes of Hull, Mikita and Tony Esposito back into the organization as ambassadors in order to help the franchise reconnect with its fans.

"I know why we're here, to bring some of the past back to the Chicago Blackhawks and to the kids," Hull said. "They are a young, young team and I think it's beneficial to them to know what went on prior to today, knowing that for a number of years we were the toughest ticket in town and had such wonderful fans year after year after year."

Perhaps no athlete in the city's history enjoyed the kind of loving relationship with the fans that Hull had with the people in Chicago Stadium.

"It's indelible in my mind when I'd go around the net and grab the biscuit, I could feel the people getting out of their seats," Hull said. "The further I got, the faster I went and the more they got out of their seats. By the time I was at the blue line ready to crank one up they were up and skating every stride with me.

"A lot of guys say they are oblivious to the crowd, but I remember every time I went on the ice, I knew those 22,000 people were skating every stride with me.

"I was fortunate enough to come to the greatest city in the world with the greatest fans in the world. I spent 15 years here and I thought that's all I was going to get out of it, but time went by and here I am getting a second chance.

"I feel so proud to be a part of what Rocky and John have created."