Al Secord came over to the Chicago Blackhawks very early in his career. He was originally drafted 16th overall by the Boston Bruins in 1978, but after just over two full seasons in the NHL, he was traded to the Blackhawks. He almost immediately broke out and was a major contributor to their sustained success for seven seasons.
Secord recorded just three assists in 18 games for the Bruins the season he got traded and then finished the 1980-81 season with 13 goals and 22 points in 41 games for Chicago. The following season, at just 23 years old, he put up 44 goals and 75 points in 80 games while recording 303 penalty minutes. He finished 15th in Hart Trophy voting and 13th in Selke Trophy voting.
Secord followed that up with 54 goals and 86 points in 80 games the next season and finished 30th in Selke Trophy voting. He was far less healthy the next two seasons and it impacted his game. He scored 19 goals and 35 points in 69 games between 1983 and 1985. He bounced back for the two seasons after that though and posted a 40-goal, 76 points campaign in 1985-86.
During his initial time with the Blackhawks, the team made the playoffs every season and lost in the Conference Finals three times. If you remember, this was the mid-80s when the Edmonton Oilers' dynasty was active. The timing wasn't great, but Secord did a great job as one of the Blackhawks' best players at both ends of the ice.
Secord left Chicago in 1987 for two seasons, but returned to play his final year with the Blackhawks at age 31, scoring 14 goals and 21 points in 44 games. He never won any awards and didn't have too long of a career, but those solid Blackhawks teams had a good player helping them along.
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