The Blackhawks' historic season has resulted in the promotions of five top executives within the organization, including general manager Stan Bowman.
Bowman was promoted Tuesday to vice president/general manager while Jay Blunk is now executive vice president, Kevin Cheveldayoff is assistant general manager/senior director of hockey operations, Al MacIsaac is vice president/assistant to the president and Chris Werner is vice president of ticket operations and customer service.
The promotions aren't expected to result in dramatically different duties for the execs, but brings the hockey and business operations closer together as one entity.
"All five of these gentlemen have had experience in their past," team president John McDonough said. "I'm very proud of them, I'm confident in their ability and their commitment and purpose. Nobody here is looking back, we're looking forward.
"From Day One this organization has been defined by change and that change continues. We have a unified philosophy that there is one Chicago Blackhawks. It's not a team operation separated from a business operation. It's a very, very healthy synergy."
Bowman, 37, became the youngest GM in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup when the Hawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers on June 9, 2010, accomplishing the feat at 36 years, 11 months and 12 days, during his first year in the position. Bowman was named the ninth GM in franchise history on July 14, 2009, and will be entering his 10th year with the organization in 2010-11.
"The job that Stan has done to run the hockey operation and Jay the business operation is remarkable," McDonough said. "Stan is bright, he's poised, he's very analytical, he's not impulsive or reactionary at all and I think we need that. As an organization we needed to calm down a little bit and he's the right guy for that."
Blunk, 47, is entering his fourth season with the Hawks after spending the previous 22 years in the front office of the Cubs. Under his business leadership, the Hawks have had 102 consecutive capacity crowds and have led the league in average attendance for each of the last two seasons. In addition, the franchise's season ticket base has risen to more than 14,000 and merchandise sales have increased by 317 percent.
Cheveldayoff, 40, was named assist GM on Aug, 3, 2009 after spending the previous 12 seasons as GM of the Chicago Wolves.
MacIsaac, 42, will be entering 11th year as a member of the Hawks' hockey operations department, which includes spending the last two seasons as senior director of hockey administration/assistant to the president.
Werner, 44, is entering his third season with the Hawks after 12 years at Ticketmaster Chicago.
good point Jim,...but weigh that against drafting Kane and Toews and acquiring Sharp and Versteeg...but then there was the qualifying offers fiasco...that cost him his job AND cap room. He still had his mitts all over the team. Artskoe....you da man, agree with your summation 100%.
@esox, actually the * belongs to Scotty Bowman, senior advisor, who saw the flaws of Dale AND Denny, then seemingly overnight took this team over the top. That, plus Wirtz replacing Wirtz made it a spectacular season all around. Now how about a repeat and three- peat?
Esox- yes, right next to the asterisk that shows Dale Tallon signing Campbell, Huet and a bunch of other lousy players to way too big contracts that made us rip apart last years team.
this is front office talk "flo"....shouldn't you be baking or cleaning the bathroom anyway?
I just LOVE all this positivity from the "fans". Always gets me revved for the season.
Uh-oh, I don't like the sounds of this. Everybody gets rewarded with a fancy-schmantzy title and made to feel more important than they are. For instance, to throw Blunk's name out there, rattle off those impressive numbers and say "under his business leadership..." implies he actually had something to do with it.
While the marketing of the team was superb, the reason people came back is that the TEAM IS WINNING! With the exception of the hockey people, the other suits have no business claiming credit for any of this.
I hope they don't go all Krause on us and start blathering that "organizations win championships". Keep the focus on the team, where it belongs.
The more things change the more they stay the same. Mcdonough and Blunk = Wirtz and Pulford. The only difference being McEgo and Blunk know zero about hockey
And of course Bowman got the credit for IT all and a promotion, go figure.
"Bowman, 37, became the youngest GM in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup"......uh, shouldn't there be an asterisk at the end stating "with the help of Dale Tallon" ?