If life was fair and reasonable, Brett Hull should be going into the Hall of Fame in a Blackhawks uniform.
It made all the sense in the world that Bill Wirtz should have done whatever it took in the late 1980s, when Calgary traded Hull to St. Louis, to find a way to add a valuable asset to his offense, not to the mention the son of Bobby Hull.
You don't need to be a marketing genius like John McDonough to understand what Brett could have meant as an attendance draw. The club probably would have soared to heights beyond the 1992 Stanley Cup finals loss to Pittsburgh with a viable attack for years.
But Bill and Bobby were sworn enemies. Bobby and Brett were sometimes at odds. And Mike Keenan and Brett would have been an odd couple, although their big-bang pairing might have created a whole new world for hockey in Chicago.
It was a dysfunctional family all the way around.
Losing out to backwater St. Louis on any terms shouldn't be an alternative for a Chicago sports team. But tell that to Cubs fans.
The Hulls themselves would have welcomed the chance to be in the Hall wearing the Indian on their sweaters. If Bill and Bobby had sought ways to co-exist rather than be conflicting egos, how much easier it would have been to welcome Brett to the family when he was looking for a hockey home.
I remember Brett telling me he was intrigued by the idea of playing in Chicago. My suggestion in a Tribune story that the Hawks out-bid the Blues in free agency sent St. Louis general manager Ron Caron into a rage, although he should have known not to expect the unexpected in Chicago.
Wirtz didn't like mavericks, be they named Bobby, Brett or Jeremy Roenick. Here's hoping the new-fashioned Hawks bring back old-fashioned maverick Chris Chelios, who's only famous now for not knowing when to quit.
That's still a valuable quality to add to any dressing room.
