Rocky Wirtz's sudden passing Tuesday means there will soon be a new principal owner of the Chicago Blackhawks.
The smart money is on Rocky's son Danny, who officially took over as Chief Executive Officer eight months after John McDonough was released in 2020. Danny is also the Vice Chairman and serves on the board of directors at Breakthru Beverage Group (formerly Wirtz Beverage Group).
It is possible that Peter Wirtz, Rocky's brother, could be brought into the fold. Peter resigned his position as Vice President of the Hawks shortly after Bill Wirtz's death in 2007.
The Wirtzes, who have owned the Hawks since 1954, could also sell, although it seems like a longshot in the short term. But who knows? A year or two down the road -- if the right offer is made -- maybe a sale could happen.
For now, we'll turn the focus to Danny.
The 46-year-old has put his stamp on the Hawks in a variety of ways. It is important to note, however, that Jaime Faulkner -- who was named President of Business Operations on December 16, 2020 -- has also been heavily involved in some tough decisions over the past 2½ years.
It is believed the two have a solid working relationship, but it will be interesting to see how they coexist going forward now that Rocky has died.
Danny is well respected behind the scenes and much more visible than Rocky was. He's tried to keep the morale up despite some tough decisions, including the firing of dozens of behind-the-scenes staff.
One person close to Danny described him as "thoughtful and intelligent" and added that "he made a huge effort to learn the business and has grown exponentially into his role.
"He seems very invested in this place emotionally and he cares deeply about the people here."
Quite a few changes have been made under Wirtz and Faulkner. Some have been subtle, while one rocked the fan base to its core.
They include:
• A complete overhaul of the television broadcast team. Iconic play-by-play announcer Pat Foley was let go after the 2021-22 season. Then color commentator, the well-respected Eddie Olczyk departed after the sides could not agree on a new contract.
• Although teams like the Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins changed their nicknames, the Blackhawks have no such plans. They did, however, begin giving stick taps to the Indian community in 2021 by playing a video before each game. "We continue to feel really positive about the types of work we can do," Danny said shortly after being named CEO. "We can be better stewards of the namesake and the history, and to use our platforms to be educators -- not only for our fans -- but for our internal teams and making sure that we provide that reverence and respect that we talk about."
• In 2022, the duo headed up a team to replace Stan Bowman as general manager. They ended up promoting interim GM Kyle Davidson to the post.
• An analytics team was added shortly after Davidson was promoted.
• The Hawks bought the AHL's Rockford IceHogs for $11.8 million in April 2021.
• After listening to complaints and concerns, the Hawks revamped their season-ticket program in 2022 to make it more user-friendly and flexible. There are now five ways fans can become "members."
Kane offers condolences:
Patrick Kane posted a message on Twitter on Wednesday that read: "Not only was Rocky Wirtz a great man and humble to the core, he was extremely loyal and generous to everyone, but especially to us players. He always made sure everything was first class for us. That mattered to him, just like winning and just like his family. My sympathy to his wife Marilyn, to his son Danny, and the entire Wirtz and Blackhawks family."