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Reactions CNNSI.com asked if Hawks fans had any opinions on the subject. And guess what ... they did. Click here to read a sampling of what CNNSI.com users had to say.

Sports fans love to reminisce over the days when it all went wrong: the wasted draft pick, the tragic trade or the defecting hero. These may not be, by definition, the worst roster moves ever made, but they were the ones that affected us on a personal level. These are the events that caused -- and still cause -- us to sit on our bar stools and lament the cruel twists of life.

The Chicago Blackhawks are working on the longest Stanley Cup drought in the NHL, having gone without since 1961. Ask 50 Hawks fan to pick a reason why and you'll soon have a list of 50. Our choices are : the 1972 defection of Bobby Hull to the WHA, the loss of both Dominik Hasek and Ed Belfour, the sacrilegious trade of Chris Chelios to Detroit, the lopsided trade of Jeremy Roenick and lastly the 1967 trade of a young Phil Esposito.

 

Summer 1972	LW Bobby Hull signs 10-year deal with the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA

The world laughed when Austin Powers brought us Dr. Evil's ridiculous ransom demand of "one milllll-ion dollars." But Chicago Blackhawks fans were transported back to a dark day in the summer of '72, when Ben Hatskin stood at the corner of Portage and Main and displayed the check with Bobby Hull's name on it.

"I told Winnipeg that if they came up with a million bucks, they had themselves a hockey player," Hull said years later. "I thought that would scare them off. I didn't want to leave Chicago. But I gave Winnipeg my word."

This June 1972 SI cover came out just weeks before Hull bolted. Tony Triolo/Sports Illustrated

With that then-outlandish signing bonus, plus a 10-year, $2.5 million contract, Hull walked out on the tight-fisted Chicago Blackhawks to become the highest-paid hockey player in the world and lend legitimacy to the new league. That legitimacy wouldn't last long, but Hull played out the string in all seven WHA seasons before a brief return to the NHL with the merger in 1979.

Not exactly the way Blackhawks fans expected to see their Golden Jet go out after 15 years, including seven goal-scoring titles and three points titles.

Had he scored his 303 WHA goals in the NHL, he would have been the all-time leader with a 913-894 edge over Wayne Gretzky (who, however, also had 46 goals in the WHA).

'Jet' Stirred Stadium Air; Hull Revitalized Blackhawks Chicago Tribune -- April 14, 1994 By Neil Milbert Before there was No. 23 there was No. 9. What Michael Jordan was to the Bulls, Bobby Hull was to the Blackhawks. All that and maybe more. Who can forget the roar?   Hull was but a blur to most opponents, as he was on this 1965 SI cover. Robert Handville/Sports Illustrated It would begin with a cheer of anticipation, descending from the second balcony of the Stadium and coinciding with Hull skating up the left side and leaving the Blackhawks' end of the rink, cradling the puck on his curved stick. As the Golden Jet accelerated and entered the neutral zone, the noise would intensify and eventually float down to engulf the first balcony and mezzanine. The announced 16,666 men, women and children in those red seats, and as many as 3,000 others standing behind them, were on red alert. As No. 9 rocketed across the blue line, he would wind up and launch the slapshot, then considered the ultimate weapon in hockey. If he missed-a collective gasp, a huge hissing sound, would be the outlet for the crowd's emotional electricity. But if the goal light flashed-a resounding roar would reverberate through every nook and cranny of the building on 1800 W. Madison St. It was a different sound from what would later celebrate those spectacular slam dunks by Air Jordan. Comparing the two -- a shot and a goal by Hull and a slam-dunk by Jordan -- is reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe telling her then husband, Joe DiMaggio, about the reception she received when she went to Korea to entertain the troops during the war. She marveled: "Joe, you never heard such cheering!" The former Yankees great's response: "Yeah, I did."

Mark O'Connor, Grayslake, Ill. One of the most gut-wrenching sports issues in the Chicago area was the time when Bobby Hull called the Chicago Blackhawks' bluff and jumped to the WHA. Mr. Hull could electrify the old Chicago Stadium with his end-to-end rush, and his booming slap shot could turn the tide of a game to the Hawks' favor. We still miss No. 9 and count him among our sports heroes over 25 years later.

SI Flashback Nov. 27, 1972 1960s Stanley Cups    Russ Pelton, Chicago "It broke my heart when the Blackhawks made no effort to sign Bobby Hull and let him walk away from the NHL. I stopped being a Blackhawks fan at that moment and haven't been back to a game since. It's strikingly similar to the way that the Bulls treated Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan a generation later, at the same locale."

 

August 7, 1992	Chicago trades G Dominik Hasek to Buffalo for G Stephane Beauregard and a 4th-round pick (LW Eric Daze)
January 25, 1997	Chicago trades G Ed Belfour to San Jose for G Chris Terreri, RW Ulf Dahlen and D Michal Sykora

Ed Belfour (top) and Dominik Hasek showed similar styles in the 1999 Stanley Cup finals. Elsa Hasch and Rick Stewart/Allsport

Just having these two goalies at all was a coup. The Hawks took Dominik Hasek with the 207th overall pick in 1983. Ed Belfour was signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of North Dakota.

Oh, well, easy come, easy go.

OK, it's ludicrous to think a platoon of The Dominator and The Eagle would have lasted the past nine years. Of course, it's no more ludicrous to watch the parade of Jimmy Waite, Ray LeBlanc, Jeff Hackett, Chris Terreri, Andrei Trefilov, Jocelyn Thibault, Mark Fitzpatrick, Steve Passmore, Marc Lamothe and Rob Tallas go through the Chicago nets.

Hasek has only won five Vezinas, an Olympic gold medal and an Eastern Conference championship. Belfour won his two Vezinas in Chicago ... but waited until he was in Dallas to win his Stanley Cup (over Hasek and the Sabres).

SI Flashback 1992 Stanley Cup 1999 Stanley Cup

Beauregard? Oh, he hasn't played an NHL game since the trade. Terreri? He's Martin Brodeur's backup in New Jersey. Dahlen? Scored six goals in 30 games for Chicago before heading back to Sweden. Sykora? He played 56 games over two seasons.

 

March 23, 1999	Chicago trades D Chris Chelios to Detroit for D Anders Ericksson and two 1st-round picks (Steve McCarthy and 2001)

Chris Chelios was the Blackhawks' captain since 1995. Brian Bahr /Allsport

Picture this: It's 1865, and Jefferson Davis turns to Robert E. Lee and says, "How'd you like to ride the rest of this thing out on the other side?"

Lee is torn. His heart is clearly in the Confederacy, but deep down he knows that his team just isn't going anywhere. So he goes.

Of course, this isn't a fair comparison because the Union and Confederate armies liked each other better than the Blackhawks and Red Wings. But there was Chris Chelios, born and raised in Chicago, purveyor of Chelly's Chili right there in downtown, putting on the winged wheel at the trading deadline in '99.

Of some consolation to Hawks fans, Chelios is 39. And even though Anders Ericksson isn't even in Chicago anymore, they should come to like Steve McCarthy and still have another first-round pick this year.

Chelios' Emotions in Spin Cycle Chicago Tribune -- April 2, 1999 By K.C. Johnson The Red Wings' dressing room inside Joe Louis Arena is where the details emerge and the reality begins to take shape. Ten days have passed since the stunning trade that sent Chris Chelios from his hometown Blackhawks to Detroit, but there he was just last Monday picking up personal items at the United Center. And there he was again Wednesday night, represented in the crowd by the countless Hawks sweaters with his name and number on the back. But this is enemy territory. This is real. This is where Chelios' locker is between those of Nicklas Lidstrom and Larry Murphy, as opposed to his preferred corner stall at the United Center. This is where there is no picture of Dick Butkus in his locker, which he used in Chicago to remind him of the pride in playing for a hometown team and the ferocity the linebacker displayed in doing so. This is where his No. 24 is everywhere--helmet, practice jerseys, nameplate--except on his hockey sticks. Those still bear the No. 7, the only reminder of his former life as a Hawk.

John Zich, Minneapolis "I can't imagine a trade that caused more agony than the Chris Chelios trade from Chicago to the Detroit Red Wings. Absolutely a killer, and total confirmation of the notorious Wirtz contempt for Blackhawk fans. You take a class act like Chris Chelios, one of the best defensemen in NHL history and a native Chicagoan to boot, and give him to the RED WINGS? The team that Blackhawk fans are brought up believing is the embodiment of evil? Essentially, the 'Hawks got nothing for Chelly, to add insult to injury. I still get revved up talking about that trade with friends of mine, and I don't know if it's possible to feel more betrayed by a sports franchise."

Dan Roeder, River Forest, Ill. "The day the Blackhawks traded Chris Chelios to the archrival Red Wings was absolutely heartbreaking to a true Hawks fan. Here was a guy who epitomized all that was great about our franchise, and then he's gone like that to our most hated rival. What a sad day for Chicago hockey fans."

 

August 16, 1996	Chicago trades C Jeremy Roenick to Phoenix for C Alexei Zhamnov, RW Craig Mills and a 1st-round pick (RW Ty Jones)

You couldn't trade more polar opposites if you tried. In Jeremy Roenick, Chicago had a bruising daredevil from the mean streets of South Boston. In Alexi Zhamnov, the Hawks got a soft Russian sniper who didn't score as often as he sniped.

Jeremy Roenick was the 8th overall pick in 1988. Brian Bahr /Allsport

Roenick ran into walls for the Blackhawks for six full seasons (not including the lockout-shortened '94-95 campaign), putting up four straight 40-goal years, including back-to-back 50-goal campaigns. In his final injury-filled season in Chicago, he scored 32 times in 66 games.

He forced Chicago to deal him when contract negotiations reached an impasse.

But surely they could have done better than Zhamnov, who has never scored more than 23 goals in any of his four seasons in Chicago.

Easy, Fans Wirtz Assures Dollars There for Roenick Chicago Tribune -- May 5, 1996 By Bob Verdi Jeremy Roenick, the Blackhawks' free-agent superstar, isn't going anywhere next season except to a higher tax bracket. Take that from team President Dollar Bill Wirtz, all you nervous hockey pucks back there in Chicago, and relax. "Jeremy is an integral part of this franchise," Wirtz said. "And we intend to keep it like that for a long time. It's going to take a lot, but that's all I do anymore, anyway. Sign checks." When Roenick heard this proclamation a day before Saturday night's Game 2 against the Colorado Avalanche, his eyes grew to about the size they were after he scored the overtime winner in Thursday night's series playoff opener. "That's just great," Roenick said. "All I've wanted from the beginning is to stay a Blackhawk. I'm ecstatic."

Brian Morris, Lake in the Hills, Ill. "The Blackhawks' trade of Jeremy Roenick to Phoenix for Alexei Zhamnov. This trade took the heart out of the Blackhawks. They haven't been the same and won't be for some time. It isn't just the fact Zhamnov has been a perennial underachiever in Chicago, but also the complete lack of personality and heart which has sucked the life out of the United Center. Blackhawks fans love Jeremy Roenick, they hardly notice Zhamnov."

 

May 17, 1967	Chicago trades C Phil Esposito, RW Ken Hodge and LW Fred Stanfield to Boston for C Pit Martin, G Jack Norris and D Gilles Marotte

Only two years removed from their last Stanley Cup, the Chicago Blackhawks brought up a big-bodied center known for his penchant for putting rebounds into the net. And Phil Esposito didn't disappoint, scoring 23, 27 and 21 goals in his first three seasons.

This might be the kind of guy you could build a franchise around. And in fact, he was. The only problem was, it was Boston that built its franchise around him.

Esposito scored 35 goals in his first season with Boston. Then 49. Then he led the league in each of the next six seasons, averaging He topped 61 goals four times, including a then-record 76 in 190-71. He also put his big mitts around the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972, as did Hodge and Stanfield.

He was the second all-time leading scorer with 717 goals when he retired in 1981.

Martin had several productive years in Chicago, Marotte spent three seasons there and Norris played only 10 games in net over two seasons. None of them ever held the Stanley Cup, as have no Blackhawks between then and now.

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