Bill Gardner

William Scott Gardner (born March 19, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward and current color commentator for the Chicago Wolves. He played in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers between 1980 and 1989.

Career Gardner was born in Toronto, Ontario. During the 1976–77 season, Gardner played for the Seneca Nationals alongside future all-time NHL points leader Wayne Gretzky. Gardner won the team's Most Valuable Player award that season, scoring 103 points as a defensemen. Gardner then went on to play for the OHL's Peterborough Petes, where in 1979, the Petes would go on to win the Memorial Cup. Gardner was drafted 49th Overall by the Chicago Blackhawks, just one pick after Mark Messier. Gardner started his National Hockey League career with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1981. He would spend his entire career with the Blackhawks except for 26 games he played for the Hartford Whalers in 1986. During his career, he scored 73 goals, 115 assists, 188 points in 380 games.

Gardner's career as a broadcaster began in 1989 as a studio analyst on SportsChannel Chicago's Blackhawks broadcasts. In 1996, he replaced Daryl Reaugh on Hartford Whalers television broadcasts when Reaugh left to become radio analyst for the Dallas Stars when it looked as if the Whalers might leave Hartford . He followed the Whalers to North Carolina when the team relocated the next season, but left after one season return to the Chicago Blackhawks as the team's color analyst on television and radio. Gardner served as color commentator for the Blackhawks alongside Pat Foley until 2002. He has been the color analyst for the Chicago Wolves since 2002.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1976–77 Seneca Nationals MJBHL 68 30 72 103 80 — — — — — 1976–77 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1977–78 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 65 23 32 55 10 21 7 10 17 4 1977–78 Peterborough Petes M-Cup — — — — — 5 4 1 5 0 1978–79 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 68 33 71 104 19 18 4 20 24 6 1978–79 Peterborough Petes M-Cup — — — — — 5 0 6 6 0 1979–80 Peterborough Petes OMJHL 59 43 63 106 17 14 13 14 27 8 1979–80 Peterborough Petes M-Cup — — — — — 5 3 5 8 0 1980–81 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1980–81 New Brunswick Hawks AHL 48 19 29 48 12 13 5 10 15 0 1981–82 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 69 8 15 23 20 15 1 4 5 6 1982–83 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 77 15 25 40 12 13 1 0 1 9 1983–84 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 79 27 21 48 12 5 0 1 1 0 1984–85 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 74 17 34 51 12 12 1 3 4 2 1985–86 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 46 3 10 13 6 — — — — — 1985–86 Hartford Whalers NHL 18 1 8 9 4 — — — — — 1986–87 Hartford Whalers NHL 8 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1986–87 Binghamton Whalers AHL 50 17 44 61 18 13 4 8 12 14 1987–88 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 2 1 0 1 2 — — — — — 1987–88 Saginaw Hawks IHL 54 18 49 67 46 10 4 4 8 14 1988–89 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 6 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 1988–89 Saginaw Hawks IHL 74 27 45 72 10 6 3 1 4 0 1989–90 Kapfenberger SV AUT 35 34 47 81 32 — — — — — 1990–91 ATSE Graz AUT 38 35 48 83 20 — — — — — 1990–91 HC Lugano NLA 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1991–92 EC Graz AUT 44 23 74 97 40 — — — — — 1992–93 EV Landshut GER 15 4 6 10 34 5 1 3 4 2 1992–93 Innsbrucker EV AUT 25 17 32 49 — — — — — — NHL totals 380 73 115 188 68 45 3 8 11 17

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1980 Canada WJC 5 0 4 4 14 Junior totals 5 0 4 4 14