Longtime Chicago Blackhawk, former NHL all-star Chico Maki passes away at 76

The Chicago Blackhawks announced Tuesday that Ron ‘Chico’ Maki has passed away at 76. Maki spent his entire NHL career with the Blackhawks, suiting up in nearly 850 games for the organization. He was a part of the 1961 Stanley Cup team and helped lead the Blackhawks to four more finals appearances.

The Chicago Blackhawks have announced Ron ‘Chico’ Maki passed away Monday at age 76 while at his home in Port Dover, Ont.

With Maki’s passing, the Blackhawks family has lost one of the longest tenured players in the franchise’s history. Over his 15-year career, Maki suited up for 841 NHL games — all with Chicago. Only eight players in the history of the franchise have represented the Blackhawks in more games than Maki, and he is one of fewer than one dozen players to play 14 years in the Chicago organization.

Over his career with the then-Black Hawks, Maki was selected to the NHL all-star team three times and registered 143 goals and 435 points. While in Chicago, Maki played alongside Hall of Famers Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull and Pierre Pilote.

Though he only suited up for one contest, Maki was part of the Black Hawks Stanley Cup championship team in 1961, which featured a young Hull and Mikita, as well as star goaltender Glenn Hall and defenseman Pilote.

Maki would help the Blackhawks return to the Stanley Cup final again in 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1973. The 1971 Stanley Cup loss was one of the most heartbreaking in Blackhawks history, as the club lost the seventh and deciding game on home ice.

During his junior career and minor league days, Maki was a standout player. While playing in the OHA, Maki was the captain of the 1960 Memoiral Cup winning St. Catherines squad and was the OHA’s leading scorer in 1959-60 with 39 goals and 92 points.

He made the leap to the AHL the following season. In his first year in the AHL as a member of the Buffalo Bisons, Maki scored 30 goals and 72 points and captured the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the league’s Rookie of the Year.