Weird Islanders: The Podcast! - Episode 94 - Jeff Hackett (with guest Sam Fels)

Joined again by writer, podcaster and Blackhawks fan Sam Fels, we remember goalie Jeff Hackett, who played decently in 500 NHL games for some of the worst teams of his era. Jeff Hackett's NHL career has a defined pattern. Every time he was given a chance to rise from back-up to starter, the team in front of him went directly into the crapper. He went from a bad early 90's Islanders team to an awful inaugural Sharks team. When he was sent to Chicago two years later, a new problem emerged: Ed Belfour was already the starter and wasn't keen on sharing his crease. Hackett endured Belfour's bullying for years before the elder goalie was shipped to San Jose and Hackett got the net full time. Too bad the Hawks playing in front of him were the definition of mediocre. His last starting gig was with the Montreal Canadiens, where the good new was that he wasn't directly following a Hall of Famer. The bad news was basically everything else. Sam walks us through Blackhawks goalie debates and in-fighting (which occasionally included actual fighting) in the era before Toews-Kane-Keith-etc changed everything. Fans in Chicago couldn't watch home games on TV thanks to a cheapskate owner, but the team was barely worth watching anyway. On that team, Hackett wasn't a bad goalie; he was just more of an "innings eater" than anything else. Sam regales us with some of the personalities and peculiarities of that time in Chicago sports and we share with him tales about some forgettable Islanders teams. Meanwhile, most of Mike's memories of Hackett come from his years as a Hab during one of their fallow periods. It's a wide-ranging episode covering a lot of 1990's and 2000's NHL nostalgia. Thanks as always to Sam for coming on. We could have listened to his Weird Blackhawks stories all day. Be sure to subscribe to his great newsletter, which covers hockey, football, soccer, pro wrestling and more. And check out our Weird Islanders Extra! Patreon bonus episode with Sam and us talking more shit about Ed Belfour, a great goalie and true lunatic in his time. Subscribe to our Patreon!⁠ Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.Visit our friends: Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, and our Al Arbour and The Island merch which benefit dementia research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items. The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena. Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion. Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN). Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp. Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices