# 1948–49 Chicago Black Hawks season

The 1948–49 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's 23rd season in the National Hockey League. The Black Hawks finished fifth and did not qualify for the playoffs.

## Regular season

The Black Hawks were coming off a last-place finish in the 1947–48 season, failing to qualify for post-season play for the second straight year. The Black Hawks would get off to a bad start, losing their first four games, before making a trade with the Detroit Red Wings. The Hawks sent Bud Poile and Hully Gee to Detroit in exchange for Jim Conacher, Doug McCaig, and Bep Guidolin. The trade would initially pay off, as the Black Hawks would post a 14–9–2 record in the next 25 games. However, they slumped again, winning only seven of their remaining 21 games and missing the playoffs for the third straight season, finishing in fifth place, seven points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final playoff spot.
Offensively, the Hawks were led by Roy Conacher, who would win the Art Ross Trophy as he led the NHL with 68 points, scoring a team high 26 goals. Doug Bentley would finish just behind Conacher, with 66 points, including an NHL high 43 assists. Jim Conacher played a solid season, earning 48 points in 55 games. Defenseman Ralph Nattrass led the Hawks' blue line with 14 points, while Bep Guidolin had a team high 116 penalty minutes.
In goal, Jim Henry, who the Hawks acquired from the New York Rangers in exchange for Emile Francis and Alex Kaleta in the off-season, received all the action, winning 21 games and posting a GAA of 3.52.

### Season standings

National Hockey League vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 60 | 34 | 19 | 7 | 195 | 145 | +50 | 75 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 60 | 29 | 23 | 8 | 178 | 163 | +15 | 66 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 60 | 28 | 23 | 9 | 152 | 126 | +26 | 65 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 60 | 22 | 25 | 13 | 147 | 161 | −14 | 57 |
| 5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 60 | 21 | 31 | 8 | 173 | 211 | −38 | 50 |
| 6 | New York Rangers | 60 | 18 | 31 | 11 | 133 | 172 | −39 | 47 |

### Record vs. opponents

1948–49 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 6–5–1 | 5–4–3 | 5–6–1 | 8–2–2 | 5–6–1 |
| Chicago | 5–6–1 | — | 3–9 | 3–7–2 | 6–5–1 | 4–4–4 |
| Detroit | 4–5–3 | 9–3 | — | 7–4–1 | 7–4–1 | 7–3–2 |
| Montreal | 6–5–1 | 7–3–2 | 4–7–1 | — | 5–4–3 | 6–4–2 |
| New York | 2–8–2 | 5–6–1 | 4–7–1 | 4–5–3 | — | 3–5–4 |
| Toronto | 6–5–1 | 4–4–4 | 3–7–2 | 4–6–2 | 5–3–4 | — |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts |
| 1 | October 13 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–4 | Detroit Red Wings | 0–1–0 | 0 |
| 2 | October 16 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–8 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–2–0 | 0 |
| 3 | October 20 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–8 | Boston Bruins | 0–3–0 | 0 |
| 4 | October 23 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0–4–0 | 0 |
| 5 | October 28 | Boston Bruins | 5–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0–5–0 | 0 |
| 6 | October 31 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–5–0 | 2 |
| 7 | November 7 | New York Rangers | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–5–0 | 4 |
| 8 | November 10 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–4 | New York Rangers | 2–6–0 | 4 |
| 9 | November 11 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–7–0 | 4 |
| 10 | November 13 | Chicago Black Hawks | 6–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–7–0 | 6 |
| 11 | November 14 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–8–0 | 6 |
| 12 | November 17 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–8–0 | 8 |
| 13 | November 21 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–8–1 | 9 |
| 14 | November 25 | New York Rangers | 4–6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 5–8–1 | 11 |
| 15 | November 27 | Chicago Black Hawks | 5–3 | Detroit Red Wings | 6–8–1 | 13 |
| 16 | November 28 | Detroit Red Wings | 9–6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 6–9–1 | 13 |
| 17 | November 30 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–2 | New York Rangers | 7–9–1 | 15 |
| 18 | December 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–5 | Boston Bruins | 7–10–1 | 15 |
| 19 | December 4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 6–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 8–10–1 | 17 |
| 20 | December 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–0 | Chicago Black Hawks | 8–11–1 | 17 |
| 21 | December 8 | Boston Bruins | 3–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 9–11–1 | 19 |
| 22 | December 11 | Chicago Black Hawks | 5–2 | Montreal Canadiens | 10–11–1 | 21 |
| 23 | December 12 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 10–11–2 | 22 |
| 24 | December 15 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 11–11–2 | 24 |
| 25 | December 19 | Boston Bruins | 2–7 | Chicago Black Hawks | 12–11–2 | 26 |
| 26 | December 23 | New York Rangers | 3–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 12–12–2 | 26 |
| 27 | December 25 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–2 | Boston Bruins | 12–13–2 | 26 |
| 28 | December 26 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–1 | New York Rangers | 13–13–2 | 28 |
| 29 | January 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 14–13–2 | 30 |
| 30 | January 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–5 | Detroit Red Wings | 14–14–2 | 30 |
| 31 | January 5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–3 | New York Rangers | 14–15–2 | 30 |
| 32 | January 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–7 | Montreal Canadiens | 14–16–2 | 30 |
| 33 | January 8 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 14–16–3 | 31 |
| 34 | January 9 | Boston Bruins | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 15–16–3 | 33 |
| 35 | January 15 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–7 | Montreal Canadiens | 15–17–3 | 33 |
| 36 | January 16 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–3 | Boston Bruins | 15–18–3 | 33 |
| 37 | January 19 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–2 | Detroit Red Wings | 15–19–3 | 33 |
| 38 | January 23 | New York Rangers | 2–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 15–19–4 | 34 |
| 39 | January 26 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 15–20–4 | 34 |
| 40 | January 29 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 15–20–5 | 35 |
| 41 | January 30 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 16–20–5 | 37 |
| 42 | February 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–6 | Detroit Red Wings | 16–21–5 | 37 |
| 43 | February 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 16–22–5 | 37 |
| 44 | February 6 | New York Rangers | 2–0 | Chicago Black Hawks | 16–23–5 | 37 |
| 45 | February 9 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–5 | Boston Bruins | 16–24–5 | 37 |
| 46 | February 10 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–1 | New York Rangers | 17–24–5 | 39 |
| 47 | February 13 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 18–24–5 | 41 |
| 48 | February 16 | Boston Bruins | 1–5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 19–24–5 | 43 |
| 49 | February 20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 19–25–5 | 43 |
| 50 | February 24 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 19–26–5 | 43 |
| 51 | February 26 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 19–26–6 | 44 |
| 52 | February 27 | Boston Bruins | 2–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 19–26–7 | 45 |
| 53 | March 2 | New York Rangers | 2–5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 20–26–7 | 47 |
| 54 | March 5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 5–6 | Detroit Red Wings | 20–27–7 | 47 |
| 55 | March 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 6–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 20–28–7 | 47 |
| 56 | March 9 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 20–28–8 | 48 |
| 57 | March 13 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 20–29–8 | 48 |
| 58 | March 16 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–3 | Boston Bruins | 21–29–8 | 50 |
| 59 | March 19 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens | 21–30–8 | 50 |
| 60 | March 20 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–5 | New York Rangers | 21–31–8 | 50 |

## Awards and records

* Roy Conacher – Art Ross Trophy, First Team All-Star
* Doug Bentley – Second Team All-Star

## Player statistics
### Scoring leaders

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Roy Conacher | 60 | 26 | 42 | 68 | 8 |
| Doug Bentley | 58 | 23 | 43 | 66 | 38 |
| Jim Conacher | 55 | 25 | 23 | 48 | 41 |
| Gus Bodnar | 59 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 14 |
| Bill Mosienko | 60 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 6 |

### Goaltending

| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA |
| Jim Henry | 60 | 3600 | 21 | 31 | 8 | 211 | 0 | 3.52 |