It’s never easy being traded. A trade is hard on both the player, their family, and the fans if it’s a beloved player. We’ve seen this on the horizon for the last couple years while Chicago was building the best dynasty run of hockey we’ve seen after the 2004-05 lockout.
The first few dominoes have started to fall as Patrick Sharp – their Alternate Captain – was traded Friday to Dallas.
Sharp didn’t depart the team and city he called home since December 5, 2005 without one final message. Tweeted by Chicago Sun-Times beat writer Mark Lazerus, Sharp’s ad was also featured in many other Chicagoland newspapers. It read:
I arrived in Chicago in 2005, not knowing the journey that the Blackhawks would take me over the next 10 years. This team gave me an opportunity to play, to grow and become the person I am today. I will always be grateful for the time I spent here.
Winning the Stanley Cup once was a dream come true; winning it three times, with three different groups of teammates, coaches and trainers, was the ultimate privilege as a player. I feel an overwhelming sense of pride when I look back on all that we’ve accomplished together.
Thank you to Rocky Wirtz, John McDonough, Stan Bowman and the entire Blackhawks family for allowing me to be a part of a world-class organization on and off the ice. Thank you to the fans for embracing me as a player and accepting me as a part of Chicago.
This city has meant so much to me and my family: Three Stanley Cup victories. The birth of Madelyn Grace and Sadie Ellen. Endless memories from the fans, my friends and teammates. For the Sharp family, Chicago has become home.
Thank you,
Patrick, Abby, Madelyn and Sadie Sharp
Sharp, 33, still has a few years left in his career. He could be the push over the top that Jim Nill needs to take the Stars from pretenders to contenders. They still have a long ways to go, but at least this is a start. Dallas also acquired defenseman Stephen Johns from in exchange for Trevor Daley and Ryan Garbutt in the trade.
Andrew Sharp?