Given the Blackhawks’ illustrious history, it’s a given that a few different Chicago legends will be vying for entry to the Hockey Hall of Fame every year. Icon Steve Larmer somehow missed out on the honor once again, but Jeremy Roenick was announced Tuesday as a member of the star-studded class of 2024.
Over the span of his 20-year career, Roenick amassed 1,363 games, scoring 513 regular-season goals and adding 703 assists. As the eighth overall pick in the 1988 NHL Draft, Roenick spent eight seasons in Chicago, breaking the 100-point mark three times. From 1990-1994, Roenick tallied 411 points in just 327 games. He played in nine All-Star Games, representing the Blackhawks four times.
Even Roenick perhaps thought this honor may never be coming his way. As a well-known “straight shooter,” he mentioned his exclusion on the Zach Gelb Show in June 2022.
“I guess I’m just not their type of person. I think my stats and my career speak for themselves, but obviously, I’m not a favorite of them personality-wise with the people that are there.”
– Jeremy Roenick, June 2022
Roenick’s willingness to speak his mind often made him the center of the attention of the media and league. He publicly criticized the American Olympic Team selections more than once, including when his name was left off the list in 2006. As an analyst with NBC Sports, Roenick was suspended, then fired from his role in 2020 for making inappropriate comments on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast regarding his coworkers. He’s made multiple acting appearances since hanging up his skates in 2009.
Roenick is joined in the Class of 2024 by NHL center Pavel Datsyuk and defenseman Shea Weber. On the women’s side, U.S. women’s hockey stars Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl were both elected. NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell and longtime Nashville Predators GM David Poile joined them in the “builder” category.
