A sign of how things have changed -- Blackhawks fanfare
The Blackhawks sold more than 8,000 passes for their first fan convention, which opened Friday at the Hilton Chicago.
Defenseman Duncan Keith remembers when that used to be a good crowd for a game.
Seeing and experiencing what has happened on and off the ice in the last year, culminating in the start of the convention, has been overwhelming for Keith and many of his teammates.
"It really shows how times have changed here," Keith said. "Just seeing how many media are here and just being down in the lobby, you notice how many fans are here and how important the Blackhawks are to a lot of people. It's nice to be a part of what's happening."
The Hawks made two announcements at opening ceremonies, the biggest naming 20-year-old Jonathan Toews the team captain, as expected. Toews will be the first Hawks captain since Martin Lapointe in 2006.
Team president John McDonough also announced that uniform No. 3 would be retired next season in honor of the late Keith Magnuson and Hall of Fame defenseman Pierre Pilote.
A year ago Rocky Wirtz was attending to his family's liquor business with no hand in the hockey operation. That changed when his father, Bill Wirtz, died in September.
Even Wirtz admits he couldn't have envisioned things turning around as quickly as they have.
"Never. I would have given you a thousand to one, and I'm pretty tight with a buck," Wirtz said. "I never would have guessed this. When you can talk hockey in the summer on a 90-degree day, with two first-place baseball teams and the Bears coming to training camp, you know it's back."
Wirtz was always confident the fans would return as long as they had something worthwhile to entice them.
"We had to give them a reason," Wirtz said. "We didn't pique their interest, and they were angry at us. It's like with anything. If you allow anger to set, then it almost turns to cruelty and then people start saying things.
"What you do is just forget the past, go into the future and set a direction from the stickboy on up. That's what we've done."
Coach Denis Savard arrived at the hotel in the morning, and there were already fans crowding the lobby, a good six hours before the official start of the festivities.
"I knew it was going to be a big thing, but this is great," Savard said. "What this does for us is solidifies what our players did last year with our fans. They connected and they're just going to have a stronger connection after this weekend."
The only players not attending the convention are goalies Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet and center Robert Lang for personal reasons, according to general manager Dale Tallon.
Khabibulin is in Belarus with his family, and Tallon said nothing should be read into his absence amid speculation the Hawks are trying to trade the veteran after signing Huet as a free agent.
Tallon contends the plan still is to have Khabibulin and Huet start the season.
"We're fine, we've talked, and we're going to do what's best for the Chicago Blackhawks and for Khabibulin and for Huet," Tallon said. "The bottom line is about winning. That's what we're here for, and those two guys give us the best chance to win every night. That's where it stands right now."
Winger Martin Havlat flew in from the Czech Republic for the weekend and told reporters his rehab from shoulder surgery was going well and he expects to be healthy for the start of training camp.
"That's my goal right now," Havlat said.
Defenseman James Wisniewski isn't as optimistic. He tore the ACL in his knee working out at the United Center a few weeks ago and needed surgery. Wisniewski is shooting for a Dec. 1 return date.
No player had a bigger smile on his face Friday than newly signed Brian Campbell, and not because of the $7.1 million he is going to collect in each of the next seven seasons.
"I wanted to come to a hockey town, so I came to a hockey town and a sports town," Campbell said. "So for me to be a part of this is great. If I would have done this a year ago maybe I wouldn't be here."