In the first half of the 2024-25 season for the Chicago Blackhawks, they won just 14 of their first 41 games. I highlighted five of those wins by choosing the top five “tool belt” handoffs. This is a way for the players to celebrate their teammates that have made special contributions towards the win. After all, who in life doesn’t want to be recognized by their fellow colleagues? It’s no different in hockey.
In the second half of the season, the Blackhawks only tasted victory 11 times. Yeah, it’s been a tough campaign when it comes to winning hockey games. Which is all the more reason the victories should be celebrated. With that in mind, let’s get to the top five “tool belt” celebrations from the last 41 games of the season.
Donato Does It (vs. Predators, Feb. 7)
Ryan Donato had a career year with the Blackhawks this season, posting a team high 31 goals, 31 assists (third on the team) and 62 points (second on the team). These numbers blew away all his previous career highs in all three categories.
The Boston, Massachusetts native hit another career high on Feb. 7 in the Blackhawks’ 6-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Donato contributed two 5-on-5 goals and two primary assists (both on the power play). This was the only time the 29-year-old has ever had a four-point game. I’d say that’s a pretty good reason to get the belt!
If you notice, it appears the players are having fun and doing some good-natured ribbing with each other. When Landon Slaggert presents the belt to Donator, somebody says facetiously, “Oh my God!” Because it’s kind of obvious Donato was most deserving of the belt in this one. Then, someone calls him “Don-a-toe” and someone else yells, “What a player!”
Finally, I love how Donato brings up winning the game the next night, and says three times, “Let’s get it done! Let’s get it done! Let’s get it done!” Each time with a bigger smile on his face.
Alas, the Blackhawks did not get it done the next night (Feb. 8). But they did take the St. Louis Blues to a 10-round shootout before finally conceding defeat by a score of 6-5. Oh, and Donato scored another goal in the effort.
Knight Has Arrived (vs. Kings, Mar. 3)
When we look back at it, the spring of 2025 will probably be seen as a turning point for the rebuilding Blackhawks. The Mar. 3 contest against the Los Angeles Kings stands out in particular, as this was goaltender Spencer Knight’s first game with the Blackhawks.
The young netminder was acquired by the Blackhawks as part of the Seth Jones trade to the Florida Panthers. While leaving a playoff caliber team, Knight saw this as an opportunity to stand on his own. Instead of being in the shadow of Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida, this could be Knight’s shot at the No. 1 goaltending gig in Chicago.
The 24-year-old wasted no time proving himself. In this 5-1 win, Knight stopped 41-of-42 shots for a .976 save percentage. He made some incredible high danger saves and looked every bit the pedigree of being drafted No. 13 overall pick in the 2019 draft. Here’s the tool belt transfer after the game.
We have a cameo by Nick Foligno (because of course the captain must congratulate the newest member of the team!). But then all eyes and ears are on Knight. He makes the most of it. “We got a good group here. You know what? It doesn’t matter if we’re f***ing first place or last, we’re gonna go win the hockey game.”
This guy is brand new to the team here, but he already has a presence and maturity beyond his years. This is Knight’s shot at the big-time, and I don’t think he’s planning on squandering it. That spells good news for Blackhawks.
Veleno’s Welcome, Maroon’s Goodbye (vs. the Flyers, Mar. 23)
It’s time to get out the tissues, because this next segment is very sentimental. Pat Maroon won the belt in the previous win, a 4-3 overtime win over the Utah Hockey Club on Mar. 7.
Side note here: In the Utah game, Donato had another spunky outing, Frank Nazar buried a penalty shot and Connor Bedard scored the overtime game-winning goal. But Maroon was given the belt for his “great fight!”. It’s obvious hockey players love the guy that’s willing to drop the gloves on their behalf.
But I digress. Maroon had announced his pending retirement on Mar. 22 when playing in his home town against the St. Louis Blues. The grizzled veteran took advantage of his stage the very next night (a 7-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers) to thank his teammates. He then granted the belt to Joe Veleno for his “first goal as a Blackhawk”.
So much to unpack here! Maroon refers to “building a culture of winning hockey, winning ways, especially for you young guys. You guys have so much talent.” The cool thing is he doesn’t seem to be trying to flatter anybody. He’s just stating a fact.
Moving on to Veleno. This 25-year-old forward was acquired at the trade deadline i n exchange for Blackhawks Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith. It must have been hard for the former first round pick (30 th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft) to be out of favor in Detroit, much less moved to a team 31st in the league. But it sounds like his new teammates embraced him. Said Veleno, “Thanks for making the transition a little easy, guiding me through everything. So I appreciate all the support.”
Forward Joe Veleno took some time adjusting to his new team, the Chicago Blackhawks, but performed well after that. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Well. Now that we’ve got all that mushy stuff out of the way, we can enjoy Lukas Reichel’s antics at the end. Go back and watch it again if you missed it; you won’t be sorry.
What a goofball!
Celebrating Blackhawks’ Staff Member (vs. Penguins, Apr. 6)
This next belt celebration is a bit unique in that it’s presented to Pawel Prylinski, the Blackhawk’s long-time massage therapist. Veleno gave “Pav” the belt after their win 3-1 over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Apr. 6. It was a night to be celebrated, as Prylinski had reached 2500 hockey games with the club. That’s a lot of games!
It’s always important to recognize the training staff; the people behind the scenes that do so much for the team. I’m sure every single player will tell you they’d be nowhere if it wasn’t for the help and support of the entire staff. It takes a full group effort to keep things running smoothly. It’s pretty neat that Prylinski was given the belt, a token usually saved for the players.
Wrapping Up the Season in Style (@ Senators, Apr. 15)
As I already mentioned, it was a tough campaign for the Blackhawks. But they finished on a high note, going 4-1-1 in their last six games. Their season finale, (a 4-3 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators) had a little bit of everything, including two goals by Bedard and the overtime winner by Nazar.
But the Blackhawks definitely needed to lean on their goaltender for this one. Newcomer Ryan Greene (freshly signed from Boston University) presented the belt to Knight, who stopped 34 out of a whopping 37 shots on goal in the victory.
We’re not even going to talk about how the Blackhawks only managed 16 shots of their own. I mean, they won darn it! But that’s definitely a problem we will be tabling for next season.
There may not have been a lot of wins for the Blackhawks this season (25 to be exact), but there’s always those players who put in the extra effort to help attain the victory. Hopefully the Blackhawks can build on the above memorable moments to keep the momentum rolling into next season, and beyond.
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