Dale Tallon Dale Lee Tallon ( born October 19 , 1950 ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and current Senior Adviser of Hockey Operations of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . He is an NHL All - Star . He began his career as a junior ice hockey player with the Oshawa Generals and later , the Toronto Marlboros , both of the Ontario Hockey Association ( OHA ) . Drafted in the first round , second overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft , Tallon spent parts of his ten - year NHL career with the Canucks , the Black Hawks , and the Pittsburgh Penguins . He also suited up for the Dallas Black Hawks of the Central Hockey League ( CHL ) and the Syracuse Firebirds of the American Hockey League ( AHL ) . Playing career . Tallon was the Vancouver Canucks ' first - round selection and the second player chosen overall ( behind Gilbert Perreault ) in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft . In his rookie season , he scored 14 goals and recorded 42 assists . His 17 goals for Vancouver in 1971 – 72 was a career high . Tallon appeared in the 1971 and 1972 NHL All - Star Game s . In 1972 , Tallon was selected to Team Canada ' s roster for the Summit Series , though he never appeared in a game . Tallon was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on May 14 , 1973 . His best season in Chicago was in 1975 – 76 , when he scored 15 goals and a career - high 47 assists . In five seasons with the Blackhawks , he scored 44 goals and added 112 assists . On October 9 , 1978 , Tallon was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second - round choice in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft . He played two seasons with the Penguins , scoring 10 goals with 33 assists . In his ten - season injury - plagued NHL career , Tallon scored 98 goals and had 238 assists for 336 points in 642 games played . He retired following the 1979 – 80 NHL season , after which he went to work for the Blackhawks as a broadcaster . Tallon spent 16 seasons as an analyst for Blackhawks radio and television broadcasts . Tallon also served the same role in the 2002 – 03 NHL season , between his two stints in the Blackhawks front office . Front office . Tallon was named the eighth general manager of the Blackhawks on June 21 , 2005 . Tallon had served as the assistant general manager since November 5 , 2003 , assisting then general manager Bob Pulford . Tallon had previously served as the director of player personnel for the Blackhawks from 1998 to 2002 . Tallon ' s first season as the Blackhawks general manager was a busy one . The 2004 – 05 NHL season was lost to a labor dispute , and the new collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players was signed in July , 2005 . Between the new financial structure and many rules changes intended to produce a higher scoring game , Tallon was challenged to build a new team . Tallon signed many free agents , including Nikolai Khabibulin , Adrian Aucoin , and Martin Lapointe , which led to raised expectations . The Blackhawks finished Tallon ' s first season with 26 wins , 43 losses , and 13 overtime losses , for 65 points , ranking the Blackhawks 14th in the 15 - team Western Conference , and with the third least points in the NHL . He has since turned the Blackhawk franchise around by drafting young talents Jonathan Toews , Patrick Kane and with the acquisitions of Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg , among others . He has also brought in free - agent defenseman Brian Campbell to improve the teams powerplay . For the 2008 - 2009 season , the Blackhawks finished the season with a 46 - 24 - 12 record for 104 points to finish 4th in the 15 team Western Conference . The team made it to the Western Conference Finals , where they were eliminated in 5 games by the Detroit Red Wings , which then went on to lose in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins . Since then , Tallon has added to the team by signing star winger Marián Hossa and Selke Award - winner John Madden . In early July , Talon and the Blackhawks management came under fire when the National Hockey League Players ' Association ( NHLPA ) claimed the team did not submit offers to their restricted free agents before the deadline . In the worst case scenario , the team ' s unsigned restricted free agents at the time , including Calder Memorial Trophy finalist Kris Versteeg , would have become unrestricted free agents . Despite the commotion , the Blackhawks were able to sign Versteeg and all of their restricted free agents before the NHLPA could take proper actions . On July 14 , 2009 , the Blackhawks demoted Tallon to the position of Senior Adviser . Stan Bowman , son of Scotty Bowman , was promoted to to general manager .