2008 – 09 Chicago Blackhawks season The 2008 – 09 Chicago Blackhawks season is the club ' s 82nd season in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Prior to the start of the season , the Blackhawks announced that 20 - year - old center Jonathan Toews would serve as the team ' s captain for the 2008 - 09 season , thus making him the 3rd - youngest player to earn that distinction in the NHL . Their regular season began on October 10 , 2008 , against the New York Rangers and will conclude on April 12 , 2009 against the rival Detroit Red Wings . The Blackhawks played in the Winter Classic , an outdoor game , against the Red Wings at Wrigley Field on January 1 , 2009 . The team succeeded in making the 2008 - 09 playoffs with a 3 - 1 win over Nashville on April 3 after missing the 2007 – 08 playoffs by three points . Pre - season . The Chicago Blackhawks had a busy offseason following the 2007 – 08 regular season . In late April , a few weeks after the season concluded , the Blackhawks announced that they were entering a three year partnership with WGN ( 720 AM ) ; they previously aired games on WSCR ( 670 AM ) . This coincided with a previous announcement that the team would air up to twenty games on WGN ' s TV affiliate . The club also brought back announcer Pat Foley to do the play - by - play announcing for all television broadcasts . The Blackhawks made a " huge splash " on the first day of free agency by signing defenseman Brian Campbell and goaltender Cristobal Huet . Campbell ' s $ 57 . 12 million contract was the largest in team history . Along with Campbell and Huet , the Blackhawks signed three other free agents , while losing three to other teams . Long - time Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman joined the organization in late July as Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations . The Hawks also added Rockford IceHogs head coach Mike Haviland as an assistant coach , and signed former Colorado Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville as a scout . On July 16 , 2008 , the NHL announced that the Blackhawks would host the second outdoor NHL Winter Classic on January 1 , 2009 , at Wrigley Field against the rival Detroit Red Wings . The game will be the 701st meeting between the two clubs , and the Blackhawks will wear uniforms similar to those they wore during the 1936 – 37 season . The team also announced that they intended to retire jersey number # 3 in honor of defensemen Pierre Pilote and Keith Magnuson . Hockey Hall of Famer Pilote spent thirteen seasons with the Hawks , winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL ' s best defenseman on three occasions . Magnuson accumulated over 1 , 400 penalty minutes in eleven years with the team . Magnuson was the president of the Blackhawks Alumni Association before he died in an automobile accident in 2003 . Season events . The Chicago Blackhawks opened the season against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on October 10 , 2008 . After winning only one of their first four games , the Blackhawks fired head coach Denis Savard . Shortly afterwards , they promoted scout Joel Quenneville as his replacement . In 147 games as coach , Savard posted a 65 - 66 - 16 record . In December , an anonymous Blackhawks fan submitted an email to Mike Ross of XM Radio ' s " NHL Home Ice " , which revealed that the team had interrupted their travel schedule to attend the wake of General Manager Dale Tallon ' s father . The team voted to delay their flight to Chicago during a six game road trip in order to travel to the wake , which was in Northern Canada . The team reached the wake on two buses , and surprised Tallon , who was unaware of the team ' s plans . Ross was shocked that no media outlets had initially reported the story , and commented , " Its amazing that such a good story can be found nowhere on the internet , and not even mentioned in the Chicago papers . Had one of the Blackhawks got into a fight and punched some drunken loser in a Toronto bar it would be plastered all over papers and the television . " The story eventually garnered much attention from various media outlets in the following week , including ESPN , Yahoo ! Sports and Deadspin . MSNBC ' s Keith Olbermann commended the team ' s actions , by naming them the " best persons in the world " for the week . On December 28 , 2008 , the Blackhawks set a franchise record nine consecutive wins . Division standings . Game log . Legend : Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; PIM = Penalty minutes " Goaltenders . " Note : GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; OT = Overtime Losses ; GA = Goals Against ; GAA = Goals Against Average ; SA = Shots Against ; SV = Saves ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; SO = Shutouts " Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blackhawks . Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks only . Traded mid - season Bold / italics denotes franchise record Draft picks . The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was hosted at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa , Ontario on June 20 and 21 . With the eleventh pick in the first round , the Blackhawks selected Kyle Beach from the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League . The Blackhawks drafted seven players ( five defensemen and two forwards ) in five of the seven rounds . All of the prospects were returned to their junior or professional league by the end of training camp .