Blackhawks’ legend Stan Mikita won’t attend NHL’s Top 100 ceremony due to dementia
The franchise’s all-time leading scorer’s family will represent him.
Chicago Blackhawks legend Stan Mikita won’t attend the NHL’s Top 100 ceremony during All-Star weekend due to health issues, reports Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
Mikita is currently living with suspected Lewy body dementia, which has “symptoms (that) include hallucinations and varied levels of alertness.”
The NHL is expected to name Mikita one of the 100 greatest NHL players during a ceremony Friday night in Los Angeles. Kuc notes Mikita’s wife, Jill; daughter, Jane; and grandson, Billy will attend the ceremony.
Mikita is a Hockey Hall of Famer who played a franchise record 1,394 in 22 seasons with Chicago. He also is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 1,467 points and holds Chicago’s records in assists (926) and 20-goal seasons (14).
Eight other Blackhawks are anticipated to be named to the top 100: Max Bentley, Tony Esposito, Glenn Hall, Bobby Hull and potentially Denis Savard along with current players Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews.
Hall also will not attend the ceremony because he’s “not a Hollywood-type guy."
