Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz leaves behind a flawed yet successful legacy

Chicago Blackhawks chairman and principal owner Rocky Wirtz passed away after a brief illness.

He was 70 years old.

Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz issued the following statement after the passing of his dad.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also issued a statement regarding Rocky’s passing.

Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz has passed away at the age of 70.

Rocky Wirtz gained ownership of the Blackhawks after his father Bill Wirtz passed away in September 2007. His father alienated the Hawks’ fanbase with his refusal to spend money on free agents and kept home games off of local television.

The Chicago Blackhawks became irrelevant in this town until Rocky took control.

That is when he put home games on local television. He hired John McDonough as team president to get the Hawks back on the map and demand greatness out of the organization.

Dale Tallon was already general manager when Rocky Wirtz assumed power and he was building up the core of a team that would go on to win three Stanley Cups in six seasons.

The Hawks went from being nothing in this town to a dynasty. Fans flocked back to the United Center.

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, Corey Crawford, and Brent Seabrook ushered in the greatest era of Chicago Blackhawks hockey.

Rocky Wirtz being willing to do everything his father refused brought the Hawks back to the forefront of the Chicago sports landscape.

His legacy is not all sunshine and rainbows.

The 2010 Stanley Cup championship will forever be tarnished because of the Kyle Beach scandal. McDonough, then general manager Stan Bowman, and then head coach Joel Quenneville all failed to report video coach Brad Aldrich’s alleged sexual assault towards Beach.

The leadership trio quietly covered up the allegations so the team would not be distracted in its pursuit of winning the Stanley Cup.

An investigation paid for by the Blackhawks years later found that Wirtz did not know of the allegations and the cover-up. He still brought that brain trust to the organization that sacrificed winning over the safety of one of its players.

Rocky made matters worse when he berated two reporters at a town hall after they inquired into how the organization would ensure something like what happened to Beach never happens again.

Wirtz faded into the background after that public relations disaster. His son Danny Wirtz and president of business operations Jamie Faulkner became the face of ownership.

The product on the ice also declined. The organization failed to move on from Bowman before the team gradually fell in the standings and his moves only made matters worse. It took the investigation done by Jenner & Block to force Bowman out.

Also, Wirtz brought back Bobby Hull as a team ambassador. The move was made to bring back a former big name to the organization but it ignored Hull’s past issues with domestic violence and racist comments.

Instead, Rocky Wirtz was a walking, talking version of what it is like to be human–flawed in more ways than one but also having good qualities to find success.

The team went nearly 50 years without a championship and ended up with three titles in a short span. Rocky’s decisions also led to a new generation of Chicago Blackhawks fans.

The organization now ushers in a new era with his son in charge and Connor Bedard as the face of the franchise. General manager Kyle Davidson has a plan in place to return the team to Stanley Cup contention. The team has one of the best prospect systems in the NHL.

Wirtz got to see the Hawks win the NHL Draft Lottery and the right to draft the hockey phenom. According to Chicago Sun-Times Blackhawks beat reporter Ben Pope, Wirtz was grinning ear-to-ear that night and enjoying a nice glass of wine.

He knew the crown jewel of his family’s holdings had a bright future. Now, he leaves the franchise in a much better place than when he found it.