Tonight is Jeremy Roenick Heritage Night at the United Center. As we at Hockeenight loved Roenick and are extremely lazy, we are proud to be able to combine these two character traits in single post. And so, we present our look back at JR from November of 2008, prior to the Hawks/Sharks matchup then. Enjoy.

"Looking Back" is Hockeenight's trip down memory lane. We will spend a little time discussing older players and events we remember, in an effort to help those who are new to this whole "Chicago has an NHL team" thing. We will welcome guest contributors as well.

 

There was hockey here before.  Not many people seem to know it, but there was hockey here. 

During the 1980s, the Hawks had built a decent team.  They plugged along, making the playoffs every year, but they had bogged down by middle of the decade, finishing below .500 in '87 and '88.  In the 1988-89 season, things would begin to change with the arrival of two men.  The first was Iron Mike Keenan, who took over as coach.  And the 2nd was a 19 year old rookie who joined the team as a late season call up, and scored 18 points in 20 games.  Jeremy Roenick had arrived in the NHL and 20 years later he's still here.

From the start there was something great about the kid.  He played the game on fast forward.  Flying around on the ice, smashing guys into the boards, unleashing his rifle of a slap shot on goalies.  Jeremy was the whole package from the beginning.  He could score, hit and fight, and he was by far the most exciting player on the team (especially once Dennis Savard was traded).  JR was the kind of player who, when he charged through the neutral zone with the puck, brought the crowd to its feet in anticipation.  Because there was always a chance he was going to do something spectacular.

Roenick was also outspoken.  He talked to the press, had a great rapport with the fans, and of course, feuded with the Hawks front office.  So when he announced prior to the start of his contract talks after the 95-96 season that he wanted to be a Blackhawk for the rest of his life, I guess we should have known then that he would be gone.  Bill Wirtz and Co. wouldn't put up with such gamesmanship.  And so, with contract talks at an impasse, the Hawks would trade their last 50 goal scorer to Phoenix for Alexi Zhamnov, who had produced one of the biggest fluke seasons since Steve Stone won the Cy Young award.

I'm sure it was the hope of the Hawks brains trust that Roenick would just fade away.  He had suffered a fairly serious knee injury prior to the trade, so maybe they counted him out, but they shouldn't have.  While he was never again the point a game player he was in Chicago, JR still produced goals and assists, while remaining a very good all-around player.  But Roenick's trade was also the symbol of the beginning of the end for Hawks.  They had traded their best and most popular player for a far inferior one, mostly because he had pissed them off.  The message had been sent: toeing the company line was more important than winning.

On November 26th, the Hawks will visit San Jose, and Jeremy Roenick will be there.  I'm sure he won't have the same spring in his step, and will probably play limited minutes, taking the occasional important face off, and probably killing penalties.  And maybe, just maybe, JR will pick up a loose puck, and charge through the neutral zone, leading the Sharks on a rush, like he used to in Chicago Stadium all those years ago.