The news of Rockys passing was an absolute shock and came out of no where so I apologize for the delay in a blog but this truly was a difficult piece to write. You can't really sum up what one man you never met means to a city. It is even more difficult when there are questions about what his legacy really is at the end of the day. What I do know is that when Rocky Wirtz took over the Blackhawks, he vowed to not be like his father. In a time period where Chicago Blackhawks Hockey was the laughing stock of not only the NHL but all of sports, he came in with the plan, and to say he achieved it would be an understatement. He gave the fans the ability to watch their teams home games on TV. He invested in the team, allowing management to go out and spend money to get the key pieces to build around future franchise players Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Under his leadership, we got to witness one of the first great dynasties of the salary cap era. He made it so players wanted to be Blackhawks, and fans could be proud to say they cheered for them. After many dark years during the "Dollar" Bill Wirtz era, Rocky was a beacon of light and hope.
What should have been seen as an amazing legacy will unfortunately always have an asterisk in the eyes of the hockey community. Now I am not going to pass judgment because, at the end of the day, no one can prove what Rocky knew and didn’t know about what happened back in 2010. Of course, we all know about the misstep in the handling of a simple question during a town hall meeting that was called by the club to put fans minds at ease that something like that would never happen again. This, sadly, will be the moment that those outside of Chicago will remember Rocky Wirtz for.
From my perspective as a fan, I don’t agree with how it was handled, and the entire situation will forever leave a bad taste in my mouth about the 2010 Cup run, but when it's all said and done, this franchise we love so much might not be here if it weren’t for the vision of Rocky Wirtz. For that, I have to say thank you, Rocky, for giving us our team back, for making Chicago hockey, not just Blackhawks hockey, relevant again, and for giving us some absolutely amazing memories over the last 16 years. My heart goes out to the Wirtz family and friends. Rest in peace, Rocky.
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