Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks announced Tuesday that veteran center and team captain Jonathan Toews will be out indefinitely with an unspecified medical issue. 

Toews said the following regarding his status in a statement:

"This offseason, I've been experiencing symptoms that have left me feeling drained and lethargic. I am working with doctors so I can better understand my condition.

"Until I can get my health back to a place where I feel I can perform at an elite level and help my team, I will not be joining the Blackhawks for training camp. I do not have a timetable for when I will rejoin the team. I am extremely disappointed, but it wouldn't be fair to myself or my teammates to attempt to play in my current condition."

The 32-year-old has been fairly durable in recent years, appearing in at least 70 games in each of the last seven seasons for one of the league's marquee franchises.

He played a crucial part in Chicago's three Stanley Cup titles since 2010. He won the 2009-10 Conn Smythe and 2012-13 Selke Trophy and scored at least 18 goals every season of his 13-year career.

Last season, Toews netted a career-low 18 goals in 70 games, but he was still highly productive with 60 points, which was his second-best total since 2014-15.

While the Blackhawks rely on his veteran leadership on the frontline, they do have plenty of weapons to carry the offensive load in his absence should he not be ready for the start of the 2021 season in January.

Patrick Kane is one of the most electrifying players in the league, Dylan Strome can occupy the center spot, and Alex DeBrincat and Dominik Kubalik are likely to help pick up the slack without Toews.

Chicago could use Toews back and healthy before the stretch run in the race to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but it does have enough pieces to remain afloat if he misses significant time.

The Chicago Blackhawks will read an Indigenous land acknowledgment before home games, beginning in the 2020-21 season. 

In a statement released Monday, the Blackhawks said they "acknowledge that the team, its foundation, and the spaces we maintain, work, and complete within, stand upon the traditional homelands of the Miami, Sauk, Fox, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, and the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi Nations.

"We understand that this land holds immense significance for its original stewards, the Native Nations and peoples of this region."

The Blackhawks are named after Sauk War Leader Black Hawk. In the statement, the team said its acknowledgment of the land is an "expression of gratitude and appreciation to those whose territory you reside on, and a way of honouring the Indigenous people who have been living and working on the land from time immemorial."

The Blackhawks are also planning on additional ways to honor Indigenous culture, though educating fans and employees alike on the history of Black Hawk.

"As we to look to expand our efforts, we will continue our genuine dialogue with local and national Native American groups and are committed to collaborating with Native American people and communities. It is through these collaborations that we've begun the thoughtful and focused process of implementing more Native American-led initiatives centered on education, contemporary art, athletics, and Indigenous food systems, and this expanded foundation will continue to grow during the 2020-21 season and beyond," the statement said.

Some have called on the Blackhawks to change their logo and nickname due to its use of Indigenous imagery. The Washington Football Team changed its nickname after decades of outcry because it was a racial slur for Indigenous people.

The Blackhawks' statement indicates the franchise plans to move forward with an educational relationship, rather than undergoing a rebranding. However, the team has announced a ban on fans wearing headdresses and Indigenous garments that could be considered offensive.

Veteran goaltender Corey Crawford won't be back with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Crawford is a free agent this offseason, and Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman confirmed the team doesn't intend to offer him a new contract:

The 35-year-old has spent his entire career in the Windy City. Chicago selected him in the second round of the 2003 NHL entry draft.

This comes after the Blackhawks selected goaltender Drew Commesso with the 46th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen are 26 and 25 years old, respectively, as well.

Bowman told reporters how the franchise is looking to give an internal replacement an opportunity rather than targeting a veteran netminder to replace Crawford.

"The message to Corey and to everyone else today is that we've decided we have some young goaltenders here in Chicago we believe in. Much like Corey needed that opportunity when he came up after the 2010 season, we have a couple young goalies in Lankinen and Delia who we haven't given a real opportunity to. With where we're headed, the NHL is relying more and more on young players. We're going to embrace that going forward."

As Bowman alluded to, the Blackhawks are headed for a period of transition—if they aren't already in one. They missed the playoffs in 2018 and 2019 and would've missed the postseason again in 2020 had the NHL not adopted a modified playoff format to restart the year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

From a sentimental perspective, it would have been nice to see Crawford stay in Chicago and perhaps end his career there. Pragmatically, it makes sense to give younger, more inexpensive players an opportunity between the pipes.

Crawford continues to be an effective goaltender when healthy. He had a .917 save percentage and 2.77 goals-against average in 40 appearances last season.

Staying on the ice has been a problem, though. The 2016-17 campaign was the last time he played in 50-plus games.

The market for free-agent goaltenders is pretty robust, with Jacob Markstrom and Braden Holtby two of the best options available. Still, Crawford should garner a lot of interest throughout the league based on his performance and reputation. 

The Chicago Blackhawks are banning fans from wearing headdresses for the team's games at United Center and official team events. 

The Blackhawks released a statement on the decision:

"We have always maintained an expectation that our fans uphold an atmosphere of respect, and after extensive and meaningful conversations with our Native American partners, we have decided to formalize those expectations. Moving forward, headdresses will be prohibited for fans entering Blackhawks-sanctioned events or the United Center when Blackhawks home games resume. These symbols are sacred, traditionally reserved for leaders who have earned a place of great respect in their Tribe, and should not be generalized or used as a costume or for everyday wear."

The move comes as some sports franchises that have relied on Indigenous imagery and themes for their mascots are pivoting in a new direction.

The Washington Football Team ditched its old nickname and will utilize the more generic moniker as a placeholder until a replacement is finalized.

The Cleveland MLB team, having already ditched Chief Wahoo, announced July 3 it would look into a possible name change. 

Team owner Paul Dolan subsequently said the franchise "will engage Native American leaders to better understand their perspectives, meet with local civic leaders, and continue to listen to the perceptions of our players, fans, partners and employees" about the matter.

The Blackhawks have already said they aren't exploring a rebrand, explaining that their "name and logo symbolizes an important and historic person, Black Hawk of Illinois' Sac & Fox Nation, whose leadership and life has inspired generations of Native Americans, veterans and the public."

The Blackhawks are resuming their season Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers for a five-game Stanley Cup qualifier. It's unclear when the team's ban on headdresses will be put to the test since the COVID-19 pandemic has put an indefinite hold on large public gatherings such as sporting events.

The Chicago Blackhawks have no plans to change their name amid calls for other American professional sports teams with Native American-inspired nicknames and logos to re-evaluate their imagery.

Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times relayed a team statement that conveyed Chicago's desire to keep the name and increase awareness of Black Hawk, the Sac & Fox Nation military leader whose name inspired the NHL team's moniker.

They also expressed a need to further "expand awareness" on "important contributions of all Native American people."

"The Chicago Blackhawks name and logo symbolizes an important and historic person, Black Hawk of Illinois' Sac & Fox Nation, whose leadership and life has inspired generations of Native Americans, veterans and the public.

"We celebrate Black Hawk's legacy by offering ongoing reverent examples of Native American culture, traditions and contributions, providing a platform for genuine dialogue with local and national Native American groups. As the team's popularity grew over the past decade, so did that platform and our work with these important organizations.

"We recognize there is a fine line between respect and disrespect, and we commend other teams for their willingness to engage in that conversation.

"Moving forward, we are committed to raising the bar even higher to expand awareness of Black Hawk and the important contributions of all Native American people.

"We will continue to serve as stewards of our name and identity, and will do so with a commitment to evolve. Our endeavors in this area have been sincere and multi-faceted, and the path forward will draw on that experience to grow as an organization and expand our efforts."

The statement comes days after the Washington NFL team and Cleveland MLB team both relayed that they are re-evaluating their team names.

Debate over the Blackhawks' name hasn't been as prominent as others, but it has been discussed in recent years, especially with the team enjoying recent success with three Stanley Cup wins during the 2010s.

Suzan Harjo of the Morning Star Institute expressed concerns over any Native American nicknames or imagery being used for sports team names in a June 2013 piece from John Keilman of the Chicago Tribune.

"It lacks dignity. There's dignity in a school being named after a person or a people," Harjo sad. "There's dignity in a health clinic or hospital. There's nothing dignified in something being so named (that is used for) recreation or entertainment or fun."

The American Indian Center's executive director at the time, Joseph Podlasek, offered a different viewpoint but said that he was fine with the Blackhawks' name under certain conditions.

"I am OK with both (the name and Indian head logo) as long as the educational process continues," he said.

Steve Inskeep of The Atlantic covered the name in a June 2015 piece but noted mixed reactions from the American Indian Center:

"The Blackhawks have the support of the Chicago-based American Indian Center, which has received grants from the team. But this is tricky. The center's director [at the time], Andrew Johnson, who is Cherokee, told me the center held a town hall meeting where many Indians denounced the team name as racist. He said native culture requires 'respect' for those different opinions."

For now, the Blackhawks' name appears to be staying the same, although it looks like other teams will be altering their names and logos soon.

There is a precedent for that in American collegiate and high school sports, with examples including St. John's, Colgate, Stanford and Dartmouth.

It is officially a new era for the Chicago Blackhawks.

On Monday, the Blackhawks announced they released president and CEO John McDonough. He was named the team president in 2007 and the CEO in 2011, and he helped oversee Stanley Cup championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz said:

"Thirteen years ago, I recruited John to the Blackhawks because of his leadership, direction and vision. John brought all of that to the table and more. His contributions went well beyond leading the team to three Stanley Cup Championships. He rebuilt the front office and helped guide the organization toward a winning vision. As difficult as this is, we believe it was the right decision for the future of the organization and its fans."

Daniel Wirtz, who is the team's vice president and alternate governor to the NHL, will fill the role on an interim basis while the Blackhawks search for a new president.

While the franchise's announcement pointed to the record 531 home game sellouts run prior to the league suspending its season because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Blackhawks have fallen off from their run of Stanley Cup dominance.

They are in last place in the Central Division with 72 points at 32-30-8 and seven points out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference with just 12 games remaining if and when the season does resume and finish.

This would mark the third straight season Chicago has missed the playoffs, which comes on the heels of nine straight postseason appearances. While that run included two more appearances in the Western Conference Final, the Blackhawks lost in the first round over the final two years of the streak.

Former Chicago Tribune reporter Jimmy Greenfield suggested moving on from the 66-year-old McDonough could signal the end of general manager Stan Bowman's 11-year tenure and bring on a full rebuild that could even mean moving on from future Hall of Famers Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews:

The Blackhawks have been one of the most successful organizations in all of sports over the past 10 years, but Kane (31), Toews (31), defenseman Duncan Keith (36) and goaltender Corey Crawford (35) are all 30 or older.

What's more, they fired legendary head coach Joel Quenneville in November 2018.

The organization seems to be moving in a new direction, and McDonough will not be part of it.

Chicago Blackhawks star Jonathan Toews is donating $100,000 through his personal foundation to the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund. 

Toews also appeared on the Today show Thursday. He sent a video message to a seven-year-old Blackhawks fan who had hoped to watch the team live for his birthday but was unable to do so with the NHL season on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Illinois has confirmed 1,865 positive cases of the coronavirus, and Chicago alone has accounted for just 50 percent (915) of the total.

The Blackhawks announced March 18 they would match the first $100,000 donated to the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund.

The fund was set up by the Chicago Community Trust along with city officials and United Way of Metro Chicago to aid local nonprofits. It received $8 million in donations in the first 24 hours after launching.

Both the NBA and NHL suspended their seasons in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. With United Center sitting empty, the venue announced Wednesday it will become a "logistics hub" to help with the "front line food distribution, first responder staging and the collection of critically needed medical supplies."

The owners of the Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls also announced they will continue compensating game-day employees at United Center through the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

The Chicago Blackhawks' Tuesday morning skate at the United Center took an ugly turn, according to several reports.

Jimmy Greenfield of the Chicago Tribune and The Athletic's Mark Lazerus relayed that Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and defenseman Duncan Keith got into a physical altercation on the ice that required teammates to step in:

Toews and head coach Jeremy Colliton downplayed the incident afterward:

The 24-20-6 Blackhawks don't have any reason to be upset right now, having won five straight games entering their matchup against the visiting 27-16-15 Florida Panthers Tuesday night.

Keith and Toews have both played their entire NHL careers in Chicago with Keith debuting in 2005 and Toews in '07. They've won three Stanley Cups together, most recently in 2014-15. 

This season, Toews' 44 points are second only to winger Patrick Kane's 62. Toews has notched 14 goals and 30 assists, while Keith has one goal and 12 assists alongside 1.7 defensive point shares.

The Blackhawks and Panthers are scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. ET start from the United Center.