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I give up.
Well, I gave up for a couple of hours yesterday evening anyway.
Just when you think you know what this team—with all its infighting and subterfuge—is about to do, the unexpected (and frankly kind of hard to take) happens.
As I said to Al Cimaglia last night, regardless of the political underpinnings, the decision to fire a very popular assistant coach—who many felt was a future head coach of the Blackhawks—and keep a very unpopular coach (who happens to be Joel Quenneville's best pal) is not the positive p.r. move that this franchise needs.
Nor is it the kind of p.r. move this team usually goes for, given a choice.
The scuttlebutt I surmised and later heard is this: Quenneville won yet another power struggle, likely due to the possibility of his leaving the organization to become head coach of the Canadiens. Yes, the Hawks have Quenneville under contract. That said, in sports, if coaches want to make those kinds of moves—they usually do.
As some readers know, Quenneville did not hire Mike Haviland—he inherited him. There was no deep loyalty there. And Haviland was and is no shrinking violet. Apparently, he and Quenneville had some differences of opinion. So like it or not fans, Joel Quenneville is likely your head coach next year, and, yes, Mike Kitchen is likely one of the assistants.
Was some compromise worked out where Barry Smith becomes one of the other assistants? That's possible, although Quenneville makes it sound for now as though that decision is his and his alone.
The fact is, we are in "make it sound like" territory here.
This is an organization reeling from bad press and appearing to be every bit the dysfunctional political mess (far beyond just the coaching staff) some (including myself) have suggested it is.
So far, the changes to the organization everyone had hoped for are the departures of a popular capable assistant GM, and a popular and capable assistant coach. Meanwhile, photos circulate of Patrick Kane passed out on a barstool in Madison and there is reason to wonder if Marian Hossa will play again.
I think the question becomes here: how different, really, is Rocky Wirtz from his father—who could never remove the sycophantic suction of Bob Pulford from the organization, ensuring a repeated pattern of office politics and hirings and firings and a slow, steady slide into disaster.
Can the younger Wirtz get this bloated organizational structure under control— eliminating the troublemakers—and more importantly those who foster an atmosphere where troublemakers thrive?
Can he?
If there's any positive this morning, it's this. It's my understanding that (no surprise) Quenneville was not at all pleased with the roster he had last year. And part of the "conditions" of his remaining in Chicago are some fairly significant roster changes, including perhaps a change to the "core."
Again, can the ponderous political machinery of the Blackhawk organization actually make such a bold move to improve the roster? Seriously, we are talking about likely dealing a player or two who many in the fanbase are in love with and have been a huge part of the team's multi-gazillion dollar marketing effort.
It's a very interesting question. And in some ways, a true litmus test of whether the Blackhawks as currently constructed in their front office, can compete as a hockey organization. You can't point to the Cup of 2010 as proof they can— because up until 2009, they really were a different type of organization.
Personnel decisions were made around transitioning from being a team in growth mode to one in maintenance mode. And thus far, maintenance has been more like mediocrity.
All for now, more as I have it.
JJ
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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