I’ve ranted and raved about what the Blackhawks have done in the past. I think I even threatened to go underground and become a guerilla fighter. But all of those plans get put on hold as we say “So long!” to our owner William “Dollar Bill” Wirtz. I’m sure you know he’s now 6 feet under and feeding the worms.
But what’s our future look like now? What will next year look like? Will Bill’s son Pete sell us out as bad as his old man? Or will he cut lose now that he’s free? There’s too many questions with too few answers.
This is what I do know: Don’t expect any changes this year. It’s too early to make any changes. Wait for next year. Yup that’s all I know. We get to play Cubs fans for the year and “Wait till Next year!” Awesome.
Here’s what I’d do if I was now in charge:
1. Sign players in their primes
2. Let it be known that not only are we putting together a team for 2008-09, we are making a future where players would want to spend a chunk of their carreer.
3. Spend $ up to a reasonable margin from the gap with enough room to add a player at the deadline.
4. Remove the Home game “Blackouts”, because that is lame and counter-productive
5. Start negotiating to put Blackhawks games on WGN-TV.
a.) Not only does WGN air here in Illinois, but you can watch it almost nation wide.
b.)Like the Cubs it would help build our fan base outside of the Chicagoland and Illinois region.
c.) It also sets precedence for the Atlanta Thrashers to negotiate with TBS.
d.) Builds leverage to grow the NHL’s TV presence
6. Begin the Blackhawks media Blitz. Their current commercials are freaking lame. They need help!
Yeah I have a lot of free time to think about this kind of thing, and obviously I use a lot of that free time to think about this. Well, I need to get back to staring at the wall and imagining Bobby Hull coming out of retirement. I’ll get back to you later
