Rocky: Changes might be coming soon!

[Blackhawks]

I like it, the day Stan is fired will be a great day! Take Q with him, sick of both but mainly Stan the man.


** Mod edited out the posted article. You can not post articles that are behind a pay wall, only link to them.

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[LDF]

i still maintain that the Bhawks, as an org screwed up in giving out long term contracts to certain players and yes the HC.

i still maintain while SB is great in the scouting dept, it is his managing of the org suxs.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

I like it, the day Stan is fired will be a great day! Take Q with him, sick of both but mainly Stan the man.


After a fabulously successful decade in which he and his team seemingly could do no wrong, Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz is showing signs of losing patience with a team whose last Stanley Cup is three years in the past and which didn't even make the playoffs this year.
In an interview, Wirtz gave his first public indication that changes may be on the way on the ice or in the front office if there isn't solid progress soon toward what team ads call "one goal": winning the cup.
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"Nothing lasts forever," he replied when asked about possible personnel changes. A little later, he pointed to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, a first-year expansion team that's now improbably in the Stanley Cup finals, even though the team is composed of what he called "a bunch of guys that nobody wanted."
The apparent message: Chicago has come to expect success from the Hawks, and so has Wirtz.

Wirtz took over the team in late 2007 after the death of his father, William Wirtz, a legendarily tight-fisted type probably best known for keeping the Hawks off TV and for letting superstar Bobby Hull escape to the Winnipeg Jets rather than pay him enough to stay.
Rocky Wirtz immediately set about making changes, reaching a TV deal with Comcast SportsNet, bringing in a new coach and general manager and actually opening his pocketbook—all in a low-key manner that generally kept him out of the public light. The new management team promptly struck gold, as young players Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and others grew to become some of the best players in the league. After failing to make the playoffs for six years in a row, they made the conference championship in 2009 and took their first of three Stanley Cups in five years in 2010.
In our lunch conversation, Wirtz and I mostly talked about politics and his long-standing concerns that the city's entertainment tax is too high. And Wirtz made it clear he's not terribly happy with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Asked directly if he'll back the city's CEO for a new term, Wirtz replied, "I don't know. . . .I certainly have options."
Then the conversation turned to the team, which was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round in two of the past three years, failing to make the postseason at all this winter.
Why the big collapse?
"The better players all had off years," Wirtz said. Star goalie Corey Crawford was out much of the season with injuries. "There were lots of reasons."
One reason is not the league's salary cap, which some blame for the team's loss of key second-level players. Wirtz is not among them.
"I don't find that as a problem. You can work it, as long as you have a system," he said. "If you're a fan, it's a problem. If you're an owner, it's not," he added, sounding much like his father, who carried the nickname Dollar Bill. "You have to think long-term."
So, what now?
"We're not going to have a knee-jerk reaction," Wirtz said. "You can't let your emotions be in control." Crawford "tells me he's OK. We'll see."
Overall, "I think the team will be fine." But, "if things are off at the beginning of the year, that's a different story. . . .Nothing lasts forever."
Asked if that means changes could occur right after the holiday season if the team is doing poorly, Wirtz had a short answer: "Yes."
The Blackhawks' owner conceded that the price of not winning has started to hit his pocketbook. As my colleague Danny Ecker previously reported, team ratings are down, and Wirtz confirmed season ticket renewal rates are off, too. Last year at this time, it was 99 percent, with all but "one person who went to jail and another one who moved out of town," Wirtz quipped. This year, it's 85 percent, despite a price hike, high enough to enable the team to fill slots with people on the waiting list and high enough that all games still are sold out—but still, not 99 percent.
I thought Wirtz's most revealing answer came when I asked him if he had any regrets giving long-term contracts to Toews, Kane and Duncan Keith, all of whom have deals not set to expire until the 2022-23 season.
"No," he said. "It was the right thing to do."
But, he immediately added, "Now they have to earn it." Wirtz then promptly underlined what's happened in Las Vegas, which didn't pick up any players with locked-in, long-term contracts.
"You can learn a lot from Las Vegas," he said. "They have a bunch of guys nobody wanted and they did great."
Seems to be a message there. We'll see how the season goes.

Sounds like Wirtz is more focused on Stan than Q with these comments.

Saying you have to have a system to work around the cap, and saying he looks at Vegas tells me he’s blaming Stan more than Q.

Also, the headline is misleading. He’s saying changes will happen if they look like shit at the beginning of next season.

 

[Enyaw]

Sounds like what I have been saying ......... team is floundering at the xmas break .... somebody is getting the axe ................. Stan starts with Q then Rocky cans Stan if they dont make the playoffs

Asked if that means changes could occur right after the holiday season if the team is doing poorly, Wirtz had a short answer: "Yes."

 

[Kevin Musto]

It's gonna be an interesting off season. Stan is going to be pressured to go big or go home with whatever acquisitions he makes.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

It's gonna be an interesting off season. Stan is going to be pressured to go big or go home with whatever acquisitions he makes.

That’s not how I read that at all.

I took it to mean:

The cap won’t be accepted as an excuse for not fielding a competitive team.

The stars must perform like stars.

There are cheap guys out there who can breakout in the right situation, Stan must go find them. That’s why I think he mentioned Vegas twice.

 

[Sarava]

I'm happy to hear this. I love what Q has done for us over the last decade, but I feel we're a year or two past where his time was up.

I want to see what a different coaching staff can do with the powerplay, with Toews, etc.

At this point I'm expecting another crappy year, barring something miraculous happening like Tavaras signing here (and why would he go to a bad team?). Which would mean the axe will probably come down sometime before the all-star break.

You have to wonder if Bowman's seat is hot as well as Q's? I'm guessing the answer is 'not yet'.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

I'm happy to hear this. I love what Q has done for us over the last decade, but I feel we're a year or two past where his time was up.

I want to see what a different coaching staff can do with the powerplay, with Toews, etc.

At this point I'm expecting another crappy year, barring something miraculous happening like Tavaras signing here (and why would he go to a bad team?). Which would mean the axe will probably come down sometime before the all-star break.

You have to wonder if Bowman's seat is hot as well as Q's? I'm guessing the answer is 'not yet'.

How do you gather Rocky is saying Stan is not on the hot seat?

 

[TLEH]

He’s oversimplying stuff with the Vegas comparison. It’s not just a team of guys nobody wanted. Anaheim did not want to lose Theodore. Washington didn’t wanna lose Schmidt, penguins probably would have rather kept Fleury. Wild had to choose between Scandella, Brodin, or Haula.

 

[Sarava]

How do you gather Rocky is saying Stan is not on the hot seat?

It's just that coaches usually go first. And coaches are way more likely to be wacked during a season than GM's are.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

He’s oversimplying stuff with the Vegas comparison. It’s not just a team of guys nobody wanted. Anaheim did not want to lose Theodore. Washington didn’t wanna lose Schmidt, penguins probably would have rather kept Fleury. Wild had to choose between Scandella, Brodin, or Haula.

Right, but the entire first line does fall in line with what Rocky is saying. In theory, Stan probably could’ve acquired all three of them for essentially pennies.

I think that’s the point he’s making to Stan. Go get the next William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, etc.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

It's just that coaches usually go first. And coaches are way more likely to be wacked during a season than GM's are.

Traditionally ya. But with mentioning the Vegas stuff, I think that’s a public shot across Stan’s bow.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

True changes comes to be when both coach Q and Stan "not his dad" Bowman are gone, not before.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

True changes comes to be when both coach Q and Stan "not his dad" Bowman are gone, not before.

Okay. Did you read the article? What did you take away from what Rocky is saying?

 

[TLEH]

Right, but the entire first line does fall in line with what Rocky is saying. In theory, Stan probably could’ve acquired all three of them for essentially pennies.

I think that’s the point he’s making to Stan. Go get the next William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, etc.

It’s not that easy. Smith makes 5 mil. If Columbus didn’t lose Karlsson they would have lost Murray. These guys had to lose somebody and you couldn’t just obtain them all for “pennies on the dollar” because then the team would just lose someone different and they knew that so they let that one guy go and moved on (the smart teams)

 

[LDF]

It's gonna be an interesting off season. Stan is going to be pressured to go big or go home with whatever acquisitions he makes.

Then Q better update his game-to-game = game plan

 

[RememberTheRoar]

It’s not that easy. Smith makes 5 mil. If Columbus didn’t lose Karlsson they would have lost Murray. These guys had to lose somebody and you couldn’t just obtain them all for “pennies on the dollar” because then the team would just lose someone different and they knew that so they let that one guy go and moved on (the smart teams)

I get what you’re saying. I think Rocky is viewing it differently, based on his comments. I think he’s saying there’s another William Karlsson out there, somewhere, go get him.

It’s overly simplistic, yes. But that’s what happens when you have owners talking about roster building. They see what other teams have, and wonder why their team doesn’t have that.

Also, I just realized how he defended the big contracts and said it was the right thing to do. I wonder how much he meddled in the Toews and Kane negotiations.

 

[BobbyJet]

Is Rocky finally waking up?

"Overall, "I think the team will be fine." But, "if things are off at the beginning of the year, that's a different story. ... Nothing lasts forever."
Asked if that means changes could occur right after the holiday season if the team is doing poorly, Wirtz had a short answer: "Yes."

Rocky Wirtz acknowledges changes could be coming for Blackhawks: 'Nothing lasts forever'

 

[RememberTheRoar]

Is Rocky finally waking up?

"Overall, "I think the team will be fine." But, "if things are off at the beginning of the year, that's a different story. ... Nothing lasts forever."
Asked if that means changes could occur right after the holiday season if the team is doing poorly, Wirtz had a short answer: "Yes."

Rocky Wirtz acknowledges changes could be coming for Blackhawks: 'Nothing lasts forever'

So excited by the article that you rushed over to post? I almost did the same thing haha.

 

[Game suspension]

The only thing Rocky gives a shit about is money. He looks at Vegas and sees a big profit margin. He is pissed off because he won't make as much money next year with the hawks. I just do not believe him at all that next season is sold out. That is complete PR nonsense but I guess we shall all see.

It does hammer home this is a pretty pivotal upcoming season for future ticket sales. Another season like the last one and Rocky won't even try to BS his 'sell out' story.

 

[LDF]

This only thing Rocky gives a **** about is money. He looks at Vegas and sees a big profit margin. He is pissed off because he won't make as much money next year with the hawks. I just do not believe him at all that next season is sold out. That is complete PR nonsense but I guess we shall all see.

It does hammer home this is a pretty pivotal upcoming season for future ticket sales. Another season like the last one and Rocky won't even try to BS his 'sell out' story.

regardless of what team the org puts on the ice, if the HC screws the pooch, the season is a wash.

if CC does not come back as CC of old and there is no viable backup.... well i will let you fill in the rest.

 

[Blue Liner]

That's not insignificant for him to publicly speak on the matter, no matter what side of that debate you're on.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

That's not insignificant for him to publicly speak on the matter, no matter what side of that debate you're on.

I meant because there’s already a thread going on the topic, not because it’s insignificant

 

[Blue Liner]

I meant because there’s already a thread going on the topic, not because it’s insignificant

That wasn't directed at you at all. Sorry if it seemed that way. Just a general observation.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

The only thing Rocky gives a **** about is money. He looks at Vegas and sees a big profit margin. He is pissed off because he won't make as much money next year with the hawks. I just do not believe him at all that next season is sold out. That is complete PR nonsense but I guess we shall all see.

It does hammer home this is a pretty pivotal upcoming season for future ticket sales. Another season like the last one and Rocky won't even try to BS his 'sell out' story.

He realizes that the Hawks winning and him making money are tied together, that’s not a bad thing. If he were trying to cut things out, or blackout games due to making less money, that’d be a bad thing.