ON THIS DAY: Blackhawks Capture 1990-91 Presidents' Trophy

It takes a special group of players to band together to capture the Presidents' Trophy, awarded to the team with the most points during the NHL's regular season.

That's exactly what the Blackhawks had during the 1990-91 season when they clinched the franchise's first Presidents' Trophy with a 5-1 victory over the Red Wings on March 31, 1991 at Chicago Stadium. The win over their Norris Division rivals on the final day of the regular season - sparked by two goals from Dirk Graham and a sensational goaltending performance by Eddie Belfour - gave the Blackhawks a 49-23-8 record and 106 points, one more than a Blues squad that finished in second place in the Norris.
"There was a really unique spirit and camaraderie between all of us on that team," said forward Stu Grimson, who had one assist and 183 penalty minutes in 35 games for the Blackhawks during the '90-91 season. "I remember guys like Dirk Graham, Keith Brown, Doug Wilson, Steve Konroyd and Troy Murray, guys who were great professionals and at the same time so gracious and so humble and so quick to care for another teammate. It was just a really close-knit group and that really remains one of my fondest memories."
That group took the ice against the Red Wings on the final day of March, 1991 needing a win to finish atop the Campbell Conference and secure home-ice advantage throughout the postseason.
Wilson's score early in the first period got things going for the Blackhawks and after the Red Wings' Steve Yzerman tied it up at 1-1 in the opening minutes of the second with his 51st goal of the season, the home team reeled off consecutive goals by Graham, Greg Gilbert, Mike Hudson and Graham again to secure the victory. Belfour finished with 34 saves in an effort typical of his season-long dominance that earned him the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie and Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender.
The win meant the Blackhawks had secured the Presidents' Trophy, a goal of coach Mike Keenan and the players.
"It was in the back of our minds that we wanted to win the Presidents' Trophy with the best record in the NHL," said Konroyd, who is currently a member of the Blackhawks' television broadcasting crew after playing with the team from 1988-92. "We were pedal to the metal right to the end of the season.
"One thing that Mike Keenan - and he pushed us pretty hard - was he was all about stats and standings and he used to break the season into five-game segments and he wanted us winning three of every five games," Konroyd continued. "That kind of broke things down for us and made everything a little more manageable. For the most part, we won most of those three-in-five-game segments and that's part of the reason we won the Presidents' Trophy."
The Blackhawks finished the regular season with a sparkling 28-8-4 record at home as Chicago Stadium lived up to its Madhouse on Madison reputation.
"It was normally worth one or two goals playing in front of the fans at the old Chicago Stadium because they brought that much energy," Konroyd said. "As loud as the United Center gets now, I don't think people realize the Stadium actually shook. It was maybe a third of the size of the United Center with almost the same number of people and that building, you could literally feel the place move when the fans got into it."
Grimson, who played for the Blackhawks from 1990-93 and currently serves as a senior analyst for the NHL Network, said the Stadium was an imposing place for visitors and that played a big role in the success of the '90-91 team.
"It was a stadium that just seemed to have the stands built right on top of the ice so that the fan base had a closer connection and perhaps at the end of the day the optics of it contributed to that imposing kind of a feel if you were a visiting player," Grimson said. "And then the practical proximity of the stands to the ice seemed to really feed the crowd just in terms of the noise, the actual din inside of that building. It provided an advantage for us."
Armed with home-ice advantage and a lineup that along with Belfour featured 40-plus-goal scorers Steve Larmer and Jeremy Roenick as well as Graham, Wilson, Michel Goulet, Steve Thomas, Adam Creighton and Chris Chelios, among others, the Blackhawks were primed to make a run at their first Stanley Cup in 30 years.
That dream ended suddenly as the Minnesota North Stars upended the Blackhawks in the first round four games to two.
"I think many of us as a group overall kind of took it for granted given the regular season we had that it meant we were going to go on a long, deep run and I think we looked past the Minnesota North Stars, without question," Grimson said. "I think we were guilty of not giving our first-round opponent near the respect they deserved."
Konroyd said playing at such a frenetic pace down the stretch of the regular season, "hurt us in the playoffs a little bit - we were a little fatigued and we had a tough team to play against."
That led to some undisciplined play that proved costly against the North Stars.
"Not only were we highly-skilled with Jeremy Roenick in his prime, Chris Chelios, Dirk Graham and all of those guys, but we had a lot of grit, sandpaper and toughness and I think what hurt us more than anything in that first round against Minnesota was taking stupid penalties," Konroyd said. "I just remember every single game how they were getting two and three and four power-play goals. You're not going to win many playoff games when you're giving up that many power-play goals against."
While the end result wasn't what it envisioned, that 1990-91 Blackhawks team forever remains etched in the record book as having earned the organization's first Presidents' Trophy (the second came in 2013) and it came courtesy of a mix of talented players and the special bond they shared.
"Certainly, there were many, many great memories on the ice but it was just a really unique and caring group of guys," Grimson said.
Added Konroyd of the '90-91 Blackhawks: "It was a close-knit, good bunch of guys. We hung out off the ice and had a lot of fun on the ice too."