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It made Hull’s slapshot, clocked at close to 200 kilometres per hour, even harder for a goalie to stop. He would first soak the wooden blade, then bend it under a door and leave it overnight. He set the record of 54 in 1966 and broke it by four goals a couple of seasons later.Īlong with Chicago teammate Stan Mikita, he helped popularize the curved hockey stick blade in the NHL.

Hull was the first player in the NHL history to score more than 50 goals in a season. “Generations of Chicagoans were dazzled by Bobby’s shooting prowess, skating skill and overall team leadership.” “Hull is part of an elite group of players who made a historic impact on our hockey club,” the Blackhawks said in a statement. Hull’s 604 goals with the Blackhawks remain a team record. “As gregarious a personality as he was explosive as a player, Hull was a true superstar and the face of the Chicago Blackhawks throughout the 1960s and early ‘70s.” “During his prime, there was no more prolific goal-scorer in all of hockey. “When Bobby Hull wound up to take a slapshot, fans throughout the NHL rose to their feet in anticipation and opposing goaltenders braced themselves,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. To put that into context, Wayne Gretzky has a combined total of 940 goals in both leagues over 1,567 games, although all but 80 of those were in the NHL. He also had 303 goals and 335 assists in the WHA for combined total of 913 goals in both leagues in 1,474 games.

Hull helped lead the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup in 23 years in 1961, and is 55th on the NHL’s all-time scoring list with 610 goals and 560 assists. A quote attributed to him in a Moscow Times article voiced support of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, although Hull denied making the comment and sued the English-language paper for libel. Controversy often swirled around Hull off the ice, including allegations of spousal abuse and a 1986 criminal conviction for assaulting a police officer.