Oct. 23--Jonathan Toews believed he was about to become a member of the Penguins and he was pretty sure Phil Kessel was headed to the Blackhawks.
The 2006 NHL draft didn't exactly pan out that way and the rest, as they say, is history.
With the Panthers in town to face the Hawks on Thursday night at the United Center, Toews was back in the same building with Dale Tallon, the man who selected him with the No. 3 pick in '06 and set off a series of events that resulted in the resurgence of a franchise and an already-remarkable NHL career.
Now the Panthers' general manager, Tallon was the man in charge of the Hawks when they had the third pick and a serious young center was starring for the University of North Dakota.
"I was thinking at the time I was probably going to go No. 2 to Pittsburgh and if I didn't then I didn't know how far along I would slide because the word was that the Hawks would take Kessel," Toews said Thursday.
After the Blues selected defenseman Erik Johnson with the top pick, the Penguins passed on Toews in favor of center Jordan Staal.
"I was like, 'Oh no, here we go. I'm not sure how long I'll be sitting here,'" Toews said with a smile. "But I was super happy when it was Chicago. I had heard nothing but good things about the team and the potential that the team had in that city. It's a pretty cool memory and a bond that I share with Dale."
The memory is an even better one for Tallon as he jumped at the chance to nab Toews, who later would become captain of the Hawks and lead them to three Stanley Cups in six seasons. The Kessel rumor was not true, Tallon said.
"We wanted Toews the whole time," Tallon said. "Of all the drafts I've been at, I had a sleepless night because I was worried he was going to go first or second. I don't know what we would have done if Toews hadn't been there. He was our guy. We were very lucky when he slipped to third."
With the way things have worked for Toews in Chicago, he's pretty pleased with the way the events of the '06 draft unfolded.
"I don't think I'd change a thing," Toews said laughing.
ckuc@tribpub.com
