On Tuesday, December 31, the NHL Winter Classic returned to Wrigley Field for the first time since 2009, and in a one-sided contest, the St. Louis Blues dispatched the Chicago Blackhawks in convincing 6–2 fashion.
It has been 16 years since the first time the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. With some similarities, aside from the venue, classic retro jerseys and another festive occasion, the Hawks were then and are now a team in transition.
The 2008–09 Blackhawks were on the rise, led by future hall of famers Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith among other talented players. They had narrowly missed the postseason in the 2007–08 season, and despite being outclassed in the 2009 Winter Classic, and again in the 2008–09 Western Conference Finals by the Detroit Red Wings, the organization then propelled to three Stanley Cup wins over a six-season span. It was lightning in a bottle; a fairy-tale rebuild that the current Chicago faithful are now realizing, which will not come as easy this time around.
The 2024–25 Hawks entered the Winter Classic versus the St. Louis Blues on a four-game skid, in last place in the NHL and despite the promise of a 19-year-old generational talent, Connor Bedard, and an abundance of other prospects who may or may not eventually turn out, they are still at the foot of the mountain looking up. Though there is the promise of a new day and a more competitive, Cup-contending team in the future, the pace of this rebuild, rising ticket prices, in addition to television contracts and the inability for all Chicagoans to even watch their team locally, the patience of the most loyal Hawks fans has been wearing thin.
But today, in a day of celebration, not even an energetic performance of “Tonight” by the iconic Chicago band Smashing Pumpkins could ignite the Blackhawks to a winning performance. As they have been all season long, and this game no exception, the Hawks were dreadful; a tale consistent, yet nevertheless tiring and downright frustrating.
From the onset, the game did not go according to plan; or maybe it did, if you have been closely following this year’s Hawks. Within the first minute, Louis Crevier cleared the pick over the glass in his own zone for a delay-of-game penalty. On the ensuing power play, Cam Fowler tallied a goal in the 1,000th game of his career from a wrist shot from the slot, assisted by Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas to make it 1–0 St. Louis.
If that was not an early sign, I am not sure what else could be. The Blues continued to create the pace and the Hawks took another penalty before the seven-minute mark when Nolan Allan was escorted to the penalty box for holding. Jordan Kyrou buried one from the goalmouth after some nifty puck movement from the Blues to make it 2–0 before the halfway mark of the period.
The Hawks began to skate a bit and cut the lead in half on the power play with just over five minutes to go in the first period. Ryan Donato kept the puck in the zone and blasted a shot from inside the blue line. Jordan Binnington kicked the rebound out, right to the stick of Taylor Hall, who banged it home to make it 2–1.
CHELSEA DAGGER AT WRIGLEY FIELD 🎶 pic.twitter.com/sFo637gX91
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 31, 2024
Chicago outshot the Blues 10–7 before the period concluded.
And that was about it. Three second-period goals from Justin Faulk, Dylan Holloway and a second from Fowler gave the Blues a 5–1 lead going into the third period. At that point the game was lost. Yes, Tyler Bertuzzi made it 5–2 in the third period, Bedard got on the board with a secondary assist to give us some emotional insurance that there is an actual rebuild plan, but it still ended with a 5–2 victory for the Blues.
ringing in the New Year 🛎️ pic.twitter.com/Elzq2hy9Dw
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 1, 2025
Perhaps this is a game that some Hawks fans will look back on with fondness, as a bookmark to the beginning stages of when the rebuild actually began, or more likely for the experience of an outdoor game, battling the elements and environment in Wrigleyville. Those same fans will not remember it for heading to the exits early with new holes in their wallets, listening to Blues fans chant in euphoria after a convincing, and truly easy victory.
Time will tell if and when Chicago will become contenders again, but in contrast to the last time the Hawks played at Wrigley Field amidst a “return to glory,” this year’s game was a bit premature for that. Do not blame anybody within the organization for it, certainly not Danny Wirtz for saying “yes” to a Winter Classic at Wrigley. Who on Earth would decline that? That said, for those Hawks fans who have not had an opportunity to even watch their team this year due to bureaucratic nonsense amongst television providers and ownership, this may have been their first glimpse at how dismal of an on-ice product the Blackhawks have, and how far they have to go before returning to relevance.
It was fun — the jerseys, pregame skates with players and families, a neat walk through an alleyway to bagpipes for the home side, an adoring crowd and surely a revenue stream to support a struggling franchise, that is for sure. Ultimately though, if the Chicago Blackhawks want to replicate the fortunes of another group that once skated at Wrigley Field over 15 years ago, it will take more than pageantry to do so. Hockey is a game, a sport that in many ways is simple. There is the victor and the vanquished, and being the victor is not a role the Hawks have enjoyed of late. Success is defined not by merchandise nor the bottom line. If the Blackhawks as an organization did not realize it before, in hockey as in any sport, there is no substitute for winning. None.