R.I.P Chicago Blackhawks Hall of Famer Stan Mikita

Stan Mikita, who played for the Chicago Blackhawks from 1958-1980, and is that franchise’s all time leading scorer, passed away at age 78 on August 7th, 2018. No cause of death was released, but Mikita had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2015.

Born in the former Czechoslovakia, Mikita and his family moved to Ontario, Canada when he was eight years old. He spent his entire NHL career with the Blackhawks, playing in a franchise record 1396 games, scoring 1467 points on 541 goals and 926 assists. Mikita played on the Blackhawks’ 1960-61 Stanley Cup champion team. He won the Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player) in the 1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons; he also won the Art Ross Trophy four times as the leading scorer in the league. His #21 was retired by the Blackhawks in 1980, the first time the organization retired a number, and Mikita was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.

At his request, Mikita’s brain will be donated for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) research. As an interesting side note, Mikita was one of the first NHL players to wear a helmet.