Blackhawks' centennial plans headlined by Stanley Cup celebrations, bobbleheads
In the Blackhawks' second round of centennial announcements on Tuesday, they released their 2025-26 season plans, ranging from giveaways — including seven bobblehead games — to alumni returns to their biggest 100th anniversary celebrations.
The Blackhawks' centennial celebration will consist of stories told over four chapters. Each chapter will focus on a specific theme for six games and will include giveaways, alumni and a featured game.
'I think we found that most teams take a chronological approach to celebrating their hundred years, and most of that approach is focused on the incredible on-ice moments that those clubs or teams had,' Blackhawks president of business Jaime Faulkner said. 'We're taking a bit of a different approach. So in addition to celebrating all the incredible on-ice and fan-favorite parts of our history, we also wanted to celebrate the Blackhawks' contribution to the game of hockey and to the city of Chicago because there are so many, and we know that our fans take so much pride in being a Blackhawks fan and we want to make sure that we're able to celebrate all the great things that make the Chicago Blackhawks who they are, while at the same time ensuring that we are also celebrating and getting our fans excited for the future. That's why we decided to break the season up into these four chapters — three that look back, the fourth that looks forward.'
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Before those chapters officially begin, the Blackhawks will kick off their anniversary with their home opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 11. Aside from their annual red-carpet event, they have extended an open invitation to all former Blackhawks players to attend the game.
'We look forward to welcoming back dozens of alumni for our home opener, with many others also returning to be celebrated at our Centennial Celebration capstone games,' Faulkner said. 'This is a year to not only honor and celebrate anyone who has worn our sweater, but create ongoing programs to bring them together with each other and our fans for years to come.'
Their first chapter, which is called 'The Originals,' will begin soon after the home opener. That chapter will focus on how the Blackhawks players and organization influenced the game of hockey. The first game of that chapter will come Oct. 17 against the Vancouver Canucks, and a Stan Mikita bobblehead will be given away before that game. The final game of the chapter will be on Nov. 15 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the game will include a Tony Esposito bobblehead giveaway and feature past alumni and their families.
The Blackhawks' second chapter is called 'The Mad House' and will revolve around the stories of Chicago Stadium. That chapter will begin with the game against the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 23 and will include a Denis Savard bobblehead giveaway. The chapter's final game will come against the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 13 and will have a Chris Chelios bobblehead giveaway and more alumni appearances.
The third chapter is called the 'Banner Years' and will be the stories of the Blackhawks' six Stanley Cup championships. The chapter will begin against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 4 and will include a Brent Seabrook bobblehead giveaway. The chapter will conclude against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 17 and will include a Duncan Keith bobblehead giveaway. That final game is when the Blackhawks expect to have players from their 2010, 2013 and 2015 Stanley Cup teams at the United Center. Keith, Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, Marián Hossa and Niklas Hjalmarsson, five of the seven players who were on all three teams, are expected to be in attendance. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who are both playing this season, are not expected to attend.
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The final chapter is called 'The Next Originals' and looks to the future. That chapter will begin on March 6 against the Canucks and will include a Tommy Hawk bobblehead giveaway.
The organization also previously announced the creation of a Blackhawks Hall of Fame.
'We started the process by asking ourselves, what do we want to celebrate?' Faulkner said. 'What is the story we want to tell? What is the story our fans want to hear? How do our alumni want to be celebrated? So, we started off asking ourselves a bunch of questions that, if we could answer those, would give us direction on how we planned, how the year would unfold. We also knew two other teams (Red Wings and New York Rangers) would be celebrating their 100 years, so what were the opportunities to collaborate with the two other Original Six teams, and how do we stand out as well?'
(Photo of Duncan Keith: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
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