Dirk Graham has retired, thus leaving the Blackhawks with large skates to fill and all that extra ice.
The departing captain will join the team’s coaching staff, but at least each game won’t be a “five-bagger.” Whether the Hawks won, lost or tied, Graham’s routine rarely varied. He put two sacks of cubes on each of his knees, both virtually bone on bone, and another one over his argumentative back, then waited until the pain subsided or he started turning blue.
“There comes a time,” said Graham, 36. “This way, I can walk away from hockey while I can still walk.”
When Graham announced his plans to the Hawks’ hierarchy, there was a brief effort to persuade him to play on, however often he would be able. That’s what he has meant to this franchise. His contract was up, but 50 nights with Dirk Graham on your side is better than none.
His body, however, rejected second opinions. So Graham was hired immediately to join Lorne Henning as an assistant to the Hawks’ new head coach, Craig Hartsburg. It’s a comfortable fit. Graham played with Hartsburg and for Henning in Minnesota before joining the Hawks in 1988, when he was traded for Curt Fraser.
Bob Pulford, the general manager, might have made better deals, but not many. Fraser was a terrific team guy, too, but he quit five years ago and is well into his next life. The expansion Orlando squad of the International League, looking for a coach with some experience, just hired Fraser. Graham lasted longer, if only on sheer will.
“I was very lucky,” he says. “I didn’t have great talent, but to be a captain of one of the original six NHL teams, I was just in the right place at the right time.”
Graham absolutely was the right man. Some guys wear the “C” for show. Others wear it as a badge of honor. Graham, who came up the hard way, always seemed to have a handle on the job. He knew when to speak and when to listen. He also knew that neither matters when the puck is dropped. Talk about leading by example. He leaned on opponents as a rule, so leaning on teammates became an exception.
After last season, Graham did issue remarks about playing hurt. His statement was naturally construed as a swipe at Jeremy Roenick, the star forward whose status with the Hawks remains unsettled.
“First of all, what I said was intended more as praise for Chris Chelios, who broke his foot during the Toronto series but never talked about it,” Graham explained. “If you’re asking me who should be the next captain here, the answer is obvious. I said I was lucky, and I was because we had a lot of leaders. But how do you top Chelios?
“The situation with Jeremy, I think it can be saved. It will be saved. He’s a great talent, but last year he was injured for the first time. He’s young, he was frustrated, but he learned a lot. I think he’ll have his best year ever for us. These guys have a real shot at the Stanley Cup.”
Graham’s low-key retirement–do it, then let the phone ring–is not unlike a decision reached by former Hawk Steve Larmer. He called it a career with the New York Rangers a couple of weeks ago, then vanished somewhere in Canada.
“Typical Larms,” said Graham. “The Rangers told him to show up whenever he wanted, but he left $1.2 million on the table because he felt it was time. A lot of the success I had in Chicago was because of him. Check my shorthanded goals. See who got the assists.”
No better person ever wore the Hawk uniform than Larmer, and the fact that he insisted on leaving Chicago is an indictment of the organization. But we’ll never know why because Larmer was a bit of a throwback, too.
“We’ve had some real character people here,” said Graham. “And we still do.”
One of them will be wearing a suit and tie next season. No more five-baggers for the captain.