1998–99 Chicago Blackhawks season

The 1998–99 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 73rd season of operation of the Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. They missed the playoffs in back to back seasons for the first time since the 1957–58 season.

1998–99 Chicago Blackhawks
Division	3rd Central
Conference	10th Western
1998–99 record	29–41–12
Home record	20–17–4
Road record	9–24–8
Goals for	202
Goals against	248
Team information
General manager	Bob Murray
Coach	Dirk Graham (Oct.–Feb.) Lorne Molleken (Feb.–Apr.)
Captain	Chris Chelios (Oct.–Mar.) Vacant (Mar.–Apr.)
Arena	United Center
Average attendance	17,329
Minor league affiliate(s)	Portland Pirates Columbus Chill
Team leaders
Goals	Tony Amonte (44)
Assists	Alexei Zhamnov (41)
Points	Tony Amonte (75)
Penalty minutes	Bob Probert (206)
Plus/minus	Doug Gilmour (+16)
Wins	Jocelyn Thibault (21)
Goals against average	Jocelyn Thibault (2.69)
← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

Offseason

Regular season

The Blackhawks allowed the most power-play goals of all 27 teams, with 80.^[1] Captain Chris Chelios was traded late in the season, to the Detroit Red Wings. The team finishes the season without a captain.

Final standings

Central Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
1	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	43	32	7	245	202	1202	93
2	5	St. Louis Blues	82	37	32	13	237	209	1308	87
3	10	Chicago Blackhawks	82	29	41	12	202	248	1807	70
4	12	Nashville Predators	82	28	47	7	190	261	1420	63

^[2]

Western Conference^[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Dallas Stars	PAC	82	51	19	12	236	168	114
2	y – Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	44	28	10	239	205	98
3	y – Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	43	32	7	245	202	93
4	Phoenix Coyotes	PAC	82	39	31	12	205	197	90
5	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	37	32	13	237	209	87
6	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	35	34	13	215	206	83
7	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	31	33	18	196	191	80
8	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	33	37	12	230	226	78
9	Calgary Flames	NW	82	30	40	12	211	234	72
10	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	29	41	12	202	248	70
11	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	32	45	5	189	222	69
12	Nashville Predators	CEN	82	28	47	7	190	261	63
13	Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	23	47	12	192	258	58

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

Schedule and results

1998–99 regular season[4]
October: 4–4–1 (home: 3–2–1; road: 1–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 W October 10, 1998 2–1 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 1–0–0 Recap 2 L October 13, 1998 1–3 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 1–1–0 Recap 3 L October 15, 1998 3–5 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 1–2–0 Recap 4 W October 17, 1998 4–3 Dallas Stars (1998–99) 2–2–0 Recap 5 W October 19, 1998 2–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 3–2–0 Recap 6 T October 22, 1998 2–2 OT San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 3–2–1 Recap 7 W October 24, 1998 5–4 Nashville Predators (1998–99) 4–2–1 Recap 8 L October 28, 1998 0–2 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 4–3–1 Recap 9 L October 30, 1998 3–7 Florida Panthers (1998–99) 4–4–1 Recap
November: 2–10–2 (home: 0–3–1; road: 2–7–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 10 L November 1, 1998 1–4 Calgary Flames (1998–99) 4–5–1 Recap 11 L November 4, 1998 1–2 @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 4–6–1 Recap 12 T November 6, 1998 2–2 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 4–6–2 Recap 13 L November 8, 1998 2–3 OT Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 4–7–2 Recap 14 L November 10, 1998 2–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 4–8–2 Recap 15 L November 12, 1998 3–10 Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 4–9–2 Recap 16 L November 14, 1998 1–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 4–10–2 Recap 17 T November 15, 1998 2–2 OT Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 4–10–3 Recap 18 W November 17, 1998 2–1 @ Nashville Predators (1998–99) 5–10–3 Recap 19 L November 21, 1998 0–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 5–11–3 Recap 20 L November 22, 1998 1–4 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 5–12–3 Recap 21 L November 24, 1998 2–3 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 5–13–3 Recap 22 L November 28, 1998 4–5 @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 5–14–3 Recap 23 W November 29, 1998 3–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 6–14–3 Recap
December: 5–6–1 (home: 5–4–1; road: 0–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 24 W December 3, 1998 4–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 7–14–3 Recap 25 W December 6, 1998 7–5 Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 8–14–3 Recap 26 L December 8, 1998 2–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 8–15–3 Recap 27 W December 9, 1998 3–1 Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 9–15–3 Recap 28 L December 11, 1998 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 9–16–3 Recap 29 T December 13, 1998 2–2 OT Dallas Stars (1998–99) 9–16–4 Recap 30 L December 17, 1998 1–3 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 9–17–4 Recap 31 L December 19, 1998 1–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 9–18–4 Recap 32 L December 20, 1998 1–4 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 9–19–4 Recap 33 W December 23, 1998 4–3 Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 10–19–4 Recap 34 L December 26, 1998 2–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 10–20–4 Recap 35 W December 31, 1998 1–0 New York Islanders (1998–99) 11–20–4 Recap
January: 3–6–4 (home: 1–2–1; road: 2–4–3) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 36 L January 2, 1999 2–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 11–21–4 Recap 37 L January 3, 1999 1–3 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 11–22–4 Recap 38 T January 5, 1999 1–1 OT @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 11–22–5 Recap 39 L January 7, 1999 2–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 11–23–5 Recap 40 T January 9, 1999 3–3 OT @ Nashville Predators (1998–99) 11–23–6 Recap 41 L January 10, 1999 2–3 OT Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 11–24–6 Recap 42 L January 12, 1999 1–4 @ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 11–25–6 Recap 43 W January 15, 1999 3–1 @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 12–25–6 Recap 44 T January 17, 1999 1–1 OT Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 12–25–7 Recap 45 W January 21, 1999 3–0 Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 13–25–7 Recap 46 W January 27, 1999 4–3 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 14–25–7 Recap 47 T January 28, 1999 6–6 OT @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 14–25–8 Recap 48 L January 30, 1999 2–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 14–26–8 Recap
February: 3–11–0 (home: 1–5–0; road: 2–6–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 49 L February 1, 1999 1–5 @ San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 14–27–8 Recap 50 L February 3, 1999 0–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 14–28–8 Recap 51 L February 4, 1999 2–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 14–29–8 Recap 52 L February 6, 1999 0–3 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 14–30–8 Recap 53 L February 10, 1999 2–5 San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 14–31–8 Recap 54 L February 12, 1999 1–2 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 14–32–8 Recap 55 W February 13, 1999 6–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 15–32–8 Recap 56 L February 15, 1999 2–6 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 15–33–8 Recap 57 W February 17, 1999 4–0 Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 16–33–8 Recap 58 L February 19, 1999 1–5 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 16–34–8 Recap 59 L February 21, 1999 3–6 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 16–35–8 Recap 60 W February 24, 1999 3–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 17–35–8 Recap 61 L February 26, 1999 1–2 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 17–36–8 Recap 62 L February 28, 1999 1–3 St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 17–37–8 Recap
March: 6–3–4 (home: 5–1–0; road: 1–2–4) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 63 W March 6, 1999 4–0 @ San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 18–37–8 Recap 64 T March 7, 1999 2–2 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 18–37–9 Recap 65 W March 10, 1999 5–2 Nashville Predators (1998–99) 19–37–9 Recap 66 L March 12, 1999 3–5 @ Nashville Predators (1998–99) 19–38–9 Recap 67 L March 14, 1999 2–5 St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 19–39–9 Recap 68 W March 17, 1999 3–1 Calgary Flames (1998–99) 20–39–9 Recap 69 T March 20, 1999 5–5 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 20–39–10 Recap 70 W March 21, 1999 4–3 Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 21–39–10 Recap 71 L March 23, 1999 2–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 21–40–10 Recap 72 T March 25, 1999 3–3 OT @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 21–40–11 Recap 73 T March 27, 1999 4–4 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 21–40–12 Recap 74 W March 28, 1999 3–1 St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 22–40–12 Recap 75 W March 31, 1999 2–1 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 23–40–12 Recap
April: 6–1–0 (home: 5–0–0; road: 1–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 76 L April 2, 1999 3–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 23–41–12 Recap 77 W April 3, 1999 2–1 Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 24–41–12 Recap 78 W April 5, 1999 2–1 Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 25–41–12 Recap 79 W April 8, 1999 6–2 New York Rangers (1998–99) 26–41–12 Recap 80 W April 12, 1999 4–2 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 27–41–12 Recap 81 W April 15, 1999 4–2 Nashville Predators (1998–99) 28–41–12 Recap 82 W April 17, 1999 3–2 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 29–41–12 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
10	Tony Amonte	RW	82	44	31	75	0	60
36	Alexei Zhamnov	C	76	20	41	61	−10	50
93	Doug Gilmour	C	72	16	40	56	−16	56
55	Eric Daze	LW	72	22	20	42	−13	22
7	Chris Chelios‡	D	65	8	26	34	−4	89
15	Chad Kilger‡	C	64	14	11	25	−1	30
16	Eddie Olczyk	C	61	10	15	25	−3	29
24	Bob Probert	LW	78	7	14	21	−11	206
22[lower-alpha 1]	Dave Manson†	D	64	6	15	21	4	107
17	Jean-Pierre Dumont	RW	25	9	6	15	7	10
19	Ethan Moreau‡	LW	66	9	6	15	−5	84
11	Nelson Emerson†‡	RW	27	4	10	14	8	13
4	Doug Zmolek	D	62	0	14	14	1	102
26	Todd White	C	35	5	8	13	−1	20
3	Christian Laflamme‡	D	62	2	11	13	0	70
33	Reid Simpson	LW	53	5	4	9	2	145
25	Daniel Cleary‡	LW	35	4	5	9	−1	24
3	Boris Mironov†	D	12	0	9	9	7	27
23	Jean-Yves Leroux	LW	40	3	5	8	−7	21
2	Brad Brown†	D	61	1	7	8	−4	184
8[lower-alpha 2]	Anders Eriksson†	D	11	0	8	8	6	0
14	Mike Maneluk†‡	RW	28	4	3	7	2	8
44	Josef Marha†	C	22	2	5	7	5	4
34	Dean McAmmond†	C	12	1	4	5	3	2
37[lower-alpha 3]	Bryan Muir†	D	53	1	4	5	1	50
38	Jamie Allison†	D	39	2	2	4	0	62
2	Eric Weinrich‡	D	14	1	3	4	−13	12
77	Paul Coffey‡	D	10	0	4	4	−6	0
20	Mark Janssens	C	60	1	0	1	−11	65
11	Jeff Shantz‡	C	7	1	0	1	−1	4
30	Mark Fitzpatrick	G	27	0	1	1		8
41	Jocelyn Thibault†	G	52	0	1	1		2
32	Radim Bicanek†	D	7	0	0	0	−3	6
44[lower-alpha 4]	Dennis Bonvie†‡	RW	11	0	0	0	−4	44
14	Sylvain Cloutier	C	7	0	0	0	−1	0
14	Steve Dubinsky‡	C	1	0	0	0	0	0
31	Jeff Hackett‡	G	10	0	0	0		6
27	Ty Jones	RW	8	0	0	0	−1	12
39[lower-alpha 5]	Craig Mills	RW	7	0	0	0	−2	2
15	Chris Murray†	RW	4	0	0	0	0	14
32	Alain Nasreddine‡	D	7	0	0	0	−2	19
6	Remi Royer	D	18	0	0	0	−10	67
8	Cam Russell‡	D	7	0	0	0	1	10
29	Andrei Trefilov†‡	G	1	0	0	0		0
19[lower-alpha 6]	Ryan VandenBussche	RW	6	0	0	0	0	17
14	Roman Vopat†‡	C	3	0	0	0	−4	4
5	Trent Yawney‡	D	20	0	0	0	−6	32

Goaltending

• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks only.

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
41	Jocelyn Thibault†	52	21	26	5	1435	136	2.71	.905	4	3014
30	Mark Fitzpatrick	27	6	8	6	682	64	2.78	.906	0	1403
31	Jeff Hackett‡	10	2	6	1	256	33	4.12	.871	0	524
29	Andrei Trefilov†‡	1	0	1	0	20	4	9.70	.800	0	25

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Tony Amonte	[5]
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Jean-Pierre Dumont (April)	[6]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Ty Jones	October 10, 1998	[7]
	Alain Nasreddine
	Remi Royer
	Jean-Pierre Dumont	November 12, 1998
	Sylvain Cloutier	March 10, 1999

Transactions

Draft picks

Chicago's draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.^[8]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	8	Mark Bell	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHL)
4	94	Matthias Trattnig	Austria	University of Maine (Hockey East)
6	156	Kent Huskins	Canada	Clarkson University (ECAC)
6	158	Jari Viuhkola	Finland	Karpat (Finland)
6	166	Jonathan Pelletier	Canada	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
7	183	Tyler Arnason	United States	St. Cloud State University (WCHA)
8	210	Sean Griffin	Canada	Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
9	238	Alexandre Couture	Canada	Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL)
9	240	Andrei Yershov	Russia	Khimik Voskresensk (Russia)

See also

• 1998–99 NHL season

Notes

1. Manson wore number 8 in his first game.
2. Eriksson wore number 6 in his first two games.
3. Muir wore number 45 in his first game.
4. Bonvie wore number 46 in his first three games.
5. Mills wore number 22 in his first game.
6. VandenBussche wore number 32 in his first two games.

References

• "Chicago Blackhawks 1998-99 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
• "1998-99 Chicago Blackhawks Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.

1. "1998-99 NHL Summary".
2. Dinger 2011, p. 155.
3. "1998-1999 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
4. "1998-99 Chicago Blackhawks Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
5. "1999 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
6. "Chicago's Dumont Named Rookie of the Month". NHL.com. April 20, 1999. Archived from the original on October 9, 1999. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
7. "1998-99 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
8. "1998 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.