This season will mark the beginning of a new era for the Chicago Blackhawks. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are out, Connor Bedard is in, and CEO Danny Wirtz will likely step into the chairman role after his father’s passing.
As an Original Six franchise, the Blackhawks and their fans love tradition. Since 2008, the chorus of “do-do-do, do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do-do-do” has blared over the United Center speakers every time the home team scores. Many sports clubs have adopted Chelsea Dagger as their celebration song, but it’ll be forever associated with the Blackhawks.
Now, it’s time to move on. Despite that the song represents one of the greatest eras in Blackhawks history, the team needs to start fresh.
Blackhawks Have Moved on From the Past
The Blackhawks adopted The Fratellis’ driving, upbeat rocker before the 2008-09 campaign, the first of nine straight seasons they made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It beat out other arena clichés like Blur’s Song 2 and The Hives’ Tick Tick Boom. At the time, it was unique, and the Blackhawks deserve credit for making it their own. It’s still a fan favorite, as The Athletic ranked it the league’s third-best goal song (from “NHL goal song rankings: From grunge to Jock Jams and everything in between,” The Athletic, 03/24/23).
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Look at where the Blackhawks are now, though. The organization has modernized and become more data-driven over the last three years after Wirtz and the president of business operations, Jaime Faulkner, stepped into their roles. Everyone involved in the sexual-assault scandal is out, and Wirtz and Faulkner deserve credit for revitalizing the organization, including improving its relationship with the Native American community. At the same time, general manager Kyle Davidson has moved the team into a rebuild, and his decision to move on from Kane and Toews was justifiable, even if unpopular.
What does this have to do with a song? Not much, but the Blackhawks are in a very different place from where they were 15 years ago. Whether Bedard, Kevin Korchinski, and Lukas Reichel lead the team to a Stanley Cup, let alone a modern-day dynasty, remains to be seen, but things are looking promising.
With Bedard, the Blackhawks will form a new identity, which the organization has clearly embraced and marketed. Similar to when Kane and Toews entered the picture, the team needs to find something new for fans to associate with the next great core.
That doesn’t (and shouldn’t) mean changing everything. Despite an overhaul on the TV side, the Blackhawks still have radio announcers John Wiedeman and Troy Murray, who called the team’s Cup-winning victories in 2010, 2013, and 2015. Jim Cornelison’s rendition of the national anthem is second to none, and longtime organist Frank Pellico still occasionally plays during stoppages. Unlike the NFL’s Washington Commanders and the MLB’s Cleveland Guardians over the last few years, the name and logo don’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
But change is also a good thing. It was natural to be skeptical when Wirtz, Faulkner, and Davidson came in, but they’ve done a great job so far. Let Chelsea Dagger be the soundtrack to the Blackhawks’ glory days.
Blackhawks Have Many Great Alternatives
Whether it’s pop, rock, EDM or another stadium classic (the Minnesota Wild use the Isley Brothers’ Shout for example), the Blackhawks have many options for choosing a new goal song.
Having produced Fall Out Boy, Earth Wind & Fire, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Wilco, just to name a few, Chicago is one of the greatest music cities. Some teams have drawn inspiration from their city’s music scene, like the Seattle Kraken, who play Nirvana’s Lithium while changing “I like it; let’s go Kraken.” There’s also the Dallas Stars, who use Pantera’s Puck Off.
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The Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, and Washington Capitals have adopted player-specific goal songs, and the Sabres’ playlist last season featured everything from ABBA to Post Malone to Motley Crüe. Like walk-up songs in baseball, this would be a fun way to get to know a player’s personality and taste. One idea could be to play Chelsea Dagger for 10-12 seconds before segueing into the player’s own choice.
Music is a large part of sports. Just as we associate Chelsea Dagger with the Blackhawks, Sweet Caroline goes with the Boston Red Sox or Jump Around with the University of Wisconsin. Change can work, though; last year, New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz began using Narco by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet as his entrance music, and it quickly resonated among fans, despite the song being relatively obscure. The team even brought Timmy Trumpet to perform it live last summer as Diaz took the field, and it has since become a standard at arenas and stadiums. What’s to say something similar won’t happen with the Blackhawks?
At the end of the day, the Blackhawks could keep Chelsea Dagger for the next 20 years, and that would be okay; the song is among the NHL’s most recognizable. That said, it’s old, and it doesn’t evoke the same feeling as it did during the Blackhawks’ “One Goal” era. With a revamped front office and on-ice product, it’s time for the team to adapt for a new era.
