Dale Tallon

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Dale Tallon (born October 19, 1950 in Noranda, Quebec) is the general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks ice hockey team in the National Hockey League, and is a former defenceman in the NHL.

Tallon was named the eighth general manager of the Blackhawks on June 21, 2005. Tallon had served as the assistant general manager since November 5, 2003, assisting then general manager Bob Pulford. Tallon had previously served as the director of player personnel for the Blackhawks from 1998 to 2002. Tallon has also served the Blackhawks as a broadcaster. Following his playing career, Tallon spent 16 seasons as an analyst for Blackhawks radio and television broadcasts. Tallon also served the same role in the 2002-03 NHL season, between his two stints in the Blackhawks front office.

Tallon's first season as the Blackhawks general manager was a busy one. The 2004-05 NHL season was lost to a labor dispute, and the new collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players was signed in July, 2005. Between the new financial structure and many rules changes intended to produce a higher scoring game, Tallon was challenged to build a new team. Tallon signed many free agents, including Nikolai Khabibulin [1], Adrian Aucoin [2], and Martin Lapointe [3], which led to raised expectations. Some analysts even predicted the Blackhawks to qualify for the NHL playoffs (finish in the top eight in the Western Conference). However, the team did not play to expectations, at least partly due to injuries to talented young player Tuomo Ruutu and free agent signees Khabibulin and Aucoin. The Blackhawks finished Tallon's first season with 26 wins, 43 losses, and 13 overtime losses, for 65 points, ranking the Blackhawks 14th in the 15-team Western Conference, and with the third least points in the NHL.

Tallon was the Vancouver Canucks first-round selection and the second player chosen overall (behind Gilbert Perreault) in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. In his rookie season, Tallon scored 14 goals and recorded 42 assists in 1970-71. Tallon scored a career-high 17 goals for Vancouver in 1971-72. Tallon appeared in the 1971 and 1972 NHL All-Star Games.

Tallon was traded to the Blackhawks on May 14, 1973. Tallon's best season in Chicago was in 1975-76, when Tallon scored 15 goals and a career-high 47 assist. In five seasons with the Blackhawks, Tallon scored 44 goals and added 112 assists. On October 9, 1978, Tallon was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second-round choice in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Tallon played two seasons with the Penguins, scoring 10 goals with 33 assists.

In his ten-season NHL career, Tallon scored 98 goals and had 238 assists for 336 points in 642 games played. Tallon retired following the 1979-80 NHL season, after which he went to work for the Blackhawks as a broadcaster.