Chicago Blackhawks: A Turnaround Worth Remembering

It was around this time last year when the Chicago Blackhawks were starting to draw attention in their hometown for the first time in years.  This happened for at least two reasons:  a few home games were starting to be put on TV, and this young team was starting to win these games. 

One year later, the Hawks are setting team records and sparking more interest than ever before.  This was emphasized tonight by a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in front of a record-breaking home crowd of 22,712 at the United Center. 

They also tied a franchise record by winning their eighth straight game, a feat also accomplished in 1971 and 1981.  With that, I feel the time is right to look back at why the Blackhawks are feeling a vibe not felt since perhaps the 1980s.

The Owner's Dead and the Son's in Charge

It all began on Sept. 26, 2007, when the team's longtime owner Bill Wirtz, the Ebenezer Scrooge of sports owners, died after a brief battle with cancer.  Some may have joked at the time that it would mean new things for the Blackhawks without knowing that it would soon be true. 

The day after Wirtz's death, his son Peter was named the new owner.  Peter then passed the team on to his brother, Rocky, who according to a team source "believes in spending money to make money."  This meant that once Rocky took over, changes were going to come and come quickly.

The Hawks on TV

One of the longtime complaints of the Hawks was that ownership refused to televise home games, save for a select few throughout the year, for fear that doing so would cut into ticket sales.  Let's face it, though, over the last several years under the old regime, fans still weren't coming out.

The hometown Wolves of the AHL even outdrew them on some nights.  If not for the recent string of events, an entire generation of Hawks fans might have been lost.

The string began nearly a month after Bill's death when Rocky announced that the team was negotiating with Chicago's Comcast SportsNet affiliate to televise some home games.  Preexisting conditions disallowed the remaining home games to be televised.

Still, it allowed Chicago sports fans to see how exciting the Hawks were.  This season, longtime announcer Pat Foley is back after a two-year absence, games are also being shown for free on WGN, and most importantly, all games are now on TV.

A New President

Perhaps the best thing Rocky has done since taking over the organization is hiring former Chicago Cubs president John McDonough to the same position.  As the club has improved, so has its marketing.

McDonough is the genius behind it.  The Blackhawks fan convention he created was a huge success in the off-season.  At that event, 20-year-old center Jonathan Toews was named as the newest team captain, the third-youngest in NHL history.

Not only was McDonough also behind the team's decision to broadcast all games on TV for the first time in history, but he also moved the radio broadcasts to WGN radio.  

It was likely his Cubs connection that influenced the decision to hold this year's Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.  Both the Cubs and White Sox also now have partnerships with the Blackhawks.

McDonough was at Game 7 of last year's AHL West Division Finals between the Wolves and the Hawks' affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.  My dad recognized him in the stands and during the first intermission, he went up to him and thanked him for bringing hockey back to Chicago. 

Of course, the Wolves have won four championships over the last 11 seasons, but since they're a minor-league team, they've never been the main story on the sports page.

The Legends Are Back

Blackhawk legends Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita may have had their numbers retired by the team back when they played at the old Chicago Stadium, but up until Bill Wirtz's death, they were not on good terms with him and thus disassociated themselves with the organization. 

That all changed last March 7 when the two were invited back to be honored on a night when they were welcomed back as goodwill ambassadors.

Twelve days later, former goaltender Tony Esposito was also honored and brought back to the team in the same way.  Further, former player Steve Larmer was honored before a game earlier this month and the No. 3 jersey was recently retired for Pierre Pilote and the late Keith Magnuson.

It's hard to imagine all these legends being welcomed back with such warm arms in less than one calendar year (though Magnuson was never on bad terms with the team), but it's happened.

Success on the Ice

Of course, all of the above means nothing if the product isn't producing on the ice.  Despite missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season in 2007-08, the Hawks had their first winning season in six years. 

All they've done so far this year is improve on that in a big way.  It began on the first day of free agency when they signed goaltender Cristobal Huet and defenseman Brian Campbell, whose $57.12 million contract is the largest in team history.

Firing head coach Denis Savard just four games into the season and replacing him with Joel Quenneville was confusing to many and met with mixed reactions.  Still, the team is just three points behind the Detroit Red Wings for first place in the Central Division, which could make the Winter Classic that much more important. 

We'll never know if Savard would have produced the same results, but I don't think Hawks fans are going to argue with what they've seen thus far.

The results are feeling their effects throughout the league.  2007's top draft pick Patrick Kane, last season's Calder Trophy winner, is tied for fourth in the league with 41 points, lighting the lamp himself 16 times.  Center Patrick Sharp is ranked fifth with 19 goals and has an impressive 19% shooting percentage.

In between the pipes, Huet and Nikolai Khabibulin have both proven they could start at any time for any team, so Quenneville could probably draw straws to determine who gets the start if he wants to.

Oh Yeah, the Fans Have Noticed

The fans have rewarded Kane and Toews by making him them the top two vote-getters for the Western Conference in All-Star Game voting.  Campbell is second in voting for Western Conference defensemen. 

The last Blackhawk to start an All-Star Game was Chris Chelios in 1997.  It looks like the team will be well-represented this year.

As someone who really only votes for the MLB All-Star Game, I know that the players elected to start are usually the players who are marketed the best.  There's no way what's happened in All-Star voting thus far was not mostly fueled by Hawks fans.

That shouldn't be surprising, considering the team is leading the NHL in home attendance.  In overall attendance, they are second to the Montreal Canadiens, who also look to be well-represented in the All-Star Game due to players receiving high voting numbers.

Conclusion

We're not even halfway through the hockey season and the Blackhawks have done everything mentioned above.  This means things are only going to get better until the regular season ends. 

A division championship would do wonders, since no championship banners have been added to the rafters since they moved to the United Center.  The Winter Classic will likely beat out every college bowl game in the Chicago market on New Year's Day and even be competitive amongst the bowl games nationwide.

The team's first playoff berth since 2002 looks to be a lock.  Whatever they do in the postseason is anyone's guess. 

What doesn't need guessing though is that the Hawks are for real and with what they have, they are going to be a threat in the NHL for quite some time.  Then one day, hopefully soon, the Cup will be hoisted once again.

"Here come the Hawks, the mighty...Blaaa-aaackhawks..."