Chris Chelios will become the ninth player in Chicago Blackhawks history to have his number retired, which the team announced on Thursday night. In case you missed it, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder delivered the surprise news to his close friend Chelios during the band's concert at the United Center.
On Friday, I sat down with Chelios for an exclusive interview on the Blackhawks Talk Podcast, and one of the topics we covered was the origin story of his No. 7. I'm not sure I ever knew it, so his answer was enlightening.
"It was given to me in Chicago," Chelios said. "It was a good number. And it turns out, like they asked me and I'd say, 'Well Bobby Hull wore that number,' he actually wore three numbers, 7, 16 and 9, and so I go, 'There's got to be some magic in that one!
"Quite honestly, I was No. 21 the day I started hockey because of Stan Mikita. That's what I wore throughout my youth and I got into Moose Jaw, wore 21, got to University of Wisconsin, 21.
"I get to Montreal and they promised me 21 and I'm watching the TV — I just arrived in Montreal after the Olympics — and there's 21 out on the ice, Guy Carbonneau, and he scores a goal and I go, 'That guy's not going anywhere,' so they threw 24 at me. It actually had been a lucky number.
"But when I got here, 7 was available and I said, 'I'm taking 7, that's a great number,' and that's where it started."
Chelios' number retirement is slated for Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 against the Detroit Red Wings.
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