1994-1996 CCM Big Block Airknit
Jerseys |
Manufacturer: CCM
Material: Airknit Away (Red): Tony Amonte Size 52 Home (White): Jeremy Roenick Size 48 |
Jersey History |
After the 1993-94 season, the Hawks would wear Airknit jerseys until CCM's contract ended in 1996. Pretty much everything about these jerseys were identical to the Ultrafil jerseys from season before. The CCM logo and NHL shield were still embroidered on the back bottom right hem. The crest and the "C" with the tomahawks on the shoulders were identical as well. You can see the difference in material below. Quality control during these years were slacking, so you'll see the main crest rotated on some of the jerseys.
The collars and tagging were the same as well. The only difference being they were labeled Air-Knit instead of Ultrafil.
Like the Ultrafils, authentics and replicas were sold at retail while game worn jerseys were sold at HawkQuarters. No special patches were worn during these two seasons.
Team History |
1994-1995: Welcome to the first NHL lockout season and also say goodbye to the Chicago Stadium as the Hawks welcome their new home, the United Center. The lockout came about after the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was expired and the owners were pushing for a luxury tax on the rising salary of the players. The owners wanted a salary cap and the players did not agree. This was to make sure the small market teams would be able to be sustained even though they brought in less revenue. After 103 days, the owners finally broke and settled on a rookie salary cap and changes to the arbitration system. The season officially started on January 20th, 1995 and would only be 48 games. Still coached by Darryl Sutter and led by Captain Dirk Graham, the Hawks finished the season 3rd in the Central Division, 4th in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 24-19-5 (W-L-T). Newly signed on the tail end of his career, Bernie Nicholls would lead scoring with 51pts followed by Murphy (41pts), Chelios (38pts), and Gary Suter (37pts). Belfour would again win the Jenning's trophy this season as well as named to the 2nd All Star Team while Chelios was named to the 1st. The Hawks would make a deeper playoff run beating Toronto in the first round in 7 games, sweeping Vancouver, and were beaten in 5 by the highly favored Red Wings. The Red Wings would go on to the Stanley Cup Final only to be swept by the underdog New Jersey Devils.
1995-1996: More shake-ups this season as the beloved Quebec Nordiques would be relocated to Denver, CO becoming the Colorado Avalanche. Current owner, William "Bill" Wirtz, decides to stop showing home games on televisions for the foreseeable future as its not fair to the season ticket holders and paying customers. This move by Wirtz, nicknamed "Dollar Bill," was generally seen as a bad idea. This would be the start of the dark days for the Hawks. A full season would be played this year, but head coach Darryl Sutter would step down of his duties to move back home and take care of his family. Former North Star, Craig Hartsburg would take over coaching duties. Some line changes would happen as Dirk Graham would officially retire and Hawks legend Denis Savard would make his return. Chris Chelios would take over captaincy and the Hawks finished the season 2nd in the Central Division, 3rd in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 40-28-14 (W-L-T). Chelios would lead scoring with 72pts followed by Roenick (67pts), Suter (67pts), and Tony Amonte (63pts). Chelios would win his third Norris this year while also being named to the 1st All Star Team. The Hawks would yet again fall short in the post season sweeping Calgary in the first round but losing to the dominant Avalanche in the second. The Avalanche would go on to sweep the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup in their first season.
1995-1996: More shake-ups this season as the beloved Quebec Nordiques would be relocated to Denver, CO becoming the Colorado Avalanche. Current owner, William "Bill" Wirtz, decides to stop showing home games on televisions for the foreseeable future as its not fair to the season ticket holders and paying customers. This move by Wirtz, nicknamed "Dollar Bill," was generally seen as a bad idea. This would be the start of the dark days for the Hawks. A full season would be played this year, but head coach Darryl Sutter would step down of his duties to move back home and take care of his family. Former North Star, Craig Hartsburg would take over coaching duties. Some line changes would happen as Dirk Graham would officially retire and Hawks legend Denis Savard would make his return. Chris Chelios would take over captaincy and the Hawks finished the season 2nd in the Central Division, 3rd in the Western Conference, and ended the season with a record of 40-28-14 (W-L-T). Chelios would lead scoring with 72pts followed by Roenick (67pts), Suter (67pts), and Tony Amonte (63pts). Chelios would win his third Norris this year while also being named to the 1st All Star Team. The Hawks would yet again fall short in the post season sweeping Calgary in the first round but losing to the dominant Avalanche in the second. The Avalanche would go on to sweep the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup in their first season.
Player History |
Tony Amonte: Tony Amonte was one of those guys who you could build a team around. He was a dynamic goal scorer that could slot in on either special teams and still be a force to be reckoned with. Born in Hingham, MA, Amonte would grow up playing elite hockey in New England with Thayer Academy and Boston University. He was eventually drafted 68th overall in the 1988 draft by the New York Rangers. He would eventually join the team during the 1991 playoffs getting a couple assists in the two games he played. He then had a phenomenal rookie season scoring 35 goals and getting 69 points in 79 games finishing third in the Calder vote behind legends Pavel Bure and Nicklas Lidstrom. He would have a short lived decline as he would butt heads with newly appointed head coach Mike Keenan his junior season. He would be traded to the Blackhawks March 21, 1994 with Matt Oats for Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan. Amonte would cement his legacy with the Hawks and eventually become the captain during the dark days, 2000-2002, after Chelios' departure.
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Reunited with his Thayer Academy buddy, Jeremy Roenick, Amonte would end up scoring 268 goals and 541 points in 627 games in 9 seasons with the Hawks. Three of those seasons he would break the the 40 goal mark. He would participate in five All Star Games with the Hawks in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. He's third in short handed goals for the Hawks behind Dirk Graham and Eric Nesterenko. Unfortunately he would not win much outside of this. He would finish his contract with the Hawks and sign with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2002-03. He would only play 59 games with the Coyotes before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers where he spent an additional season before finishing his career with the Calgary Flames in 2007. Amonte would play over 15 seasons and 1174 games in the NHL and is 13th all time in points among American born players with 900.
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Amonte would play in Italy for HC Fassa for the first half of the 1994-95 lockout. He would also represent USA in international play as well. He would play in the IIHF World Junior Championship in 1988, 1989, and 1990. He would play in the IIHF World Championship in 2001 and 2003. He would play in the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in 1996, where he would score the game winning goal against Canada to win gold, and in 2004. He would also play in the Olympics in 1998 and 2002, where he would help the US take silver. He would go on to be inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. After retirement, Amonte would coach his alma mater Thayer Academy varsity team for 12 years. He would step down here in 2022 and would join the Florida Panthers organization as a scout where he resides today.
Jeremy Roenick: Jeremy Roenick is the epitome of old school hockey. He could score and then beat your face in. He also wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind, for better or worse. Roenick was born in Boston, MA where he played elite hockey with Thayer Academy. After, he would spend a season in the QMJHL after being drafted 8th overall by the Blackhawks in 1988. He would join the Hawks shortly for the 1988-89 season. He spent eight years with the Hawks before feuding over salary with Hawks owner Bill Wirtz. He would be traded in 1996 to the Phoenix Coyotes for Alexei Zhamnov, Craig Mills, and a 1st round pick. He would spend the next 5 years in Arizona before signing with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent. He would spend three years here before the 2004-05 lockout. After which he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings to free up cap space for the newly signed Peter Forsberg. He would go back to Phoenix for one more season before finishing his career with the San Jose Sharks in 2009. He would play for Kolner Haie in Germany during the 1994-95 lockout and not play professionally during the 2004-05 lockout.
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Like I said, he could score and beat you up. With the Hawks he had two 40+ goal seasons, two 50+ goal seasons, three 100+ point seasons and two 100+ PIMs seasons. He wouldn't continue his high scoring prowess after the Hawks but he would keep up his tough act racking up 100+ PIMs in 5 consecutive seasons with Phoenix. He would participate in 9 All Star Games in 1991-94, 1999-00, and 2002-04. He would even go 4 for 4 in the accuracy skills competition in 2004. Roenick would have a very long NHL career playing in 18 seasons and 1363 games. He would keep up stats wise scoring 513 goals, 1216 points, and earning 1463 PIMs. He was only the 3rd American born player to reach 500 goals in his career behind Joe Mullen and Mike Modano. He would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2024.
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Roenick would represent the USA internationally as well. He would participate in two IIHF World Junior Championship in 1988 and 1989. He would play in the IIHF World Championship 1991. He played in the 1991 Canada Cup where the US took silver. He also participated in the Olympics in 1998 and 2002, where the US would take home silver. Man did Roenick have a lot to say. His lack of filter would involve him in plenty of controversies both during and after his playing career. Most notable during his career was his implication in Operation Slapshot, an operation created with the intent to uncover a nationwide gambling ring. No charges came from this as the NHL hadn't prohibited gambling on sports and Roenick would stop anyway after a warning from Bobby Clarke. After retirement, Roenick would join the NBC Sports team in 2010 where he eventually served as an analyst and co-anchor. He would be the one to stir the pot on the panel, of course, and would eventually take it too far by saying inappropriate sexual comments about his coworkers. He would be fired in 2020.