Stan Bowman promoted by Blackhawks
There are still plenty of questions surrounding the 2020-21 National Hockey League season, but the Chicago Blackhawks are in full planning mode regardless as they confirmed their executive leadership team on Wednesday.
The biggest news to come from the announcement is that the team named Danny Wirtz as CEO and alternate governor while promoting Stan Bowman to be the team’s president of hockey operations and general manager. They have also hired Jaime Faulkner as the club’s president of business operations and alternate governor.
The club has struggled to put a winning product on the ice in recent seasons, having failed to reach further than the opening round of the playoffs since they won the Stanley Cup in 2015. The club is looking to rebuild their squad and the Blackhawks seem to have all the confidence in the world that the new executive leadership team can help get it done.
“The play stoppage provided us the ability to look into the windshield and recognize that whatever the future held, it would require an entire new look at how we play and host this great game,” Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz, father to Danny, said in a statement, via Sportsnet. “It was evident that it would require change. Since then, we have taken the steps and made those changes to put the pieces into place that will bring a new mindset and culture to the Chicago Blackhawks that will lead us into the future.”
Bowman stays on as the club’s general manager, a position he has held in the organization since 2009. He has also been the club’s senior vice president since 2015, but will now have even more so with his new position as president of hockey operations.
When John McDonough was fired in April, Wirtz had been named as the interim president. The club has essentially split his portfolio in two handing the reigns over to Faulkner and Bowman.
The club released a letter in October, outlining their plans to rebuild the team to the fans. Had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic and the inclusion of a play-in round, the Blackhawks would have been on the outside of the playoffs looking in for the third season in a row.
“We’re committed to developing young players and rebuilding our roster,” the letter said, via Sportsnet. “We want more than another window to win; we want to reach the summit again, and stay there – an effort that will require a stockpile of emerging talent to complement our top players. The influx of youth and their progression will provide roster flexibility and depth throughout our lineup.
Chicago has won the Stanley Cup three times since 2010, ending a drought of nearly 50 years. They are hoping they will be able to recapture that success going forward under the leadership of their new executive team.
The new season is expected to commence sometime in January, although nothing has been made official by the league yet. The NHL is also looking at re-aligning the divisions for the 2020-21 campaign to help make travel easier and keep teams safe during the pandemic.
