Pearl Jam announces that the Blackhawks will retire Chris Chelios' number

When I think of Chris Chelios and music, my first instinct is to go straight to Bob Bissonnette. After all, his song Chris Chelios, which starts with a legendary line, is a great earworm.

The famous “t’as fourré la femme du président” is also well launched. In short, we’re in for a treat on this slightly cooler Friday morning in Montreal.

But this morning, when we think of the world of music and the former NHL defenseman, it’s Eddie Vedder and the legendary band Pearl Jam that come to mind.

And why? Because of what happened yesterday in Chicago.

Yesterday, during a Pearl Jam show, Vedder took the time to announce to those present in the Chicago arena that the Hawks had made the decision to retire the former club defender’s number 7.

This will happen on February 25 against the Red Wings, one of his former teams.

In a surprise announcement onstage during tonight’s Pearl Jam concert, Eddie Vedder revealed the Blackhawks will retire Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios’ No. 7 jersey

What a moment! pic.twitter.com/ITo3AZowMf

– Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) September 8, 2023

In terms of points, it’s really in Chicago that the Hall of Famer has enjoyed the biggest years of his career. In nine seasons, the defenseman racked up 487 points.

The Canadiens traded him to the Hawks at the age of 28. He played until the age of 48, after stints with the Blackhawks, the Red Wings… and seven games in Atlanta.

BREAKING: #Blackhawks to retire former captain Chris Chelios’ No. 7 jersey on Feb. 25, 2024 vs. Detroit.

The surprise news was delivered by Eddie Vedder during tonight’s Pearl Jam concert at the United Center: https://t.co/Cux9XJV6xk

– Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) September 8, 2023

With the club going nowhere (besides Connor Bedard, there’s not much positive surrounding the Hawks these days), seeing that such an initiative has been taken to keep fans happy is a good idea.

I really like it.

Note that Eddie Vedder, even though he led a Seattle grunge band and helped create the grunge wave in the 1990s, is a Chicago native after all. That explains why he was put in charge of making the announcement.

Well-deserved, anyway.

In bursts

– Zdeno’s a machine. #Marathons

Retired Zdeno Chara running marathons now: ‘Didn’t take any kind of break ‘ https://t.co/hDMB3XDLbW pic.twitter.com/iKAGoZDHaA

– New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) September 8, 2023

– Tough break.

Bad news for the Dodgers and for the MVP race. https://t.co/Qwmlilv6vh

– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) September 8, 2023

– Bummer.

Canada will play for bronze on Sunday after falling to Serbia in the semifinals. #FIBAWC | @CanBball pic.twitter.com/COEGIqJ5kQ

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 8, 2023

– Nice mask.

A beautiful mask in tribute to Cristobal Huet’s career https://t.co/V0ngn1vGdA pic.twitter.com/Zh6Te0tCQy

– SwissHabs (@SwissHabs) September 8, 2023

– Kasperi Kapanen knows he made a mistake. He apologizes.

Kapanen: I made an unacceptable error in judgement and take full responsibility for my actions. I offer my apologies to my family, the Blues organization, my teammates and fans. I understand the severity of my mistake and am committed to doing everything I can to earn back trust.

– Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) September 8, 2023