The arrival of Connor Bedard already was set to accelerate the Blackhawks' rebuild on the ice next season. Following the death of team chairman Rocky Wirtz, how might his son, Danny, move the NHL Original Six franchise forward overall as a business.
Danny Wirtz, the president and CEO of the Blackhawks since 2020, seems to be in line to take charge as the team’s chairman and owner of following the sudden death of his father, W. Rockwell “Rocky” Wirtz on July 25, 2023.
But one never knows what turns and squabbles a family’s affairs might take. When the family is worth billions, has businesses with hundreds of employees and owns an iconic professional sports franchise, those matters can become magnified and legitimately public.
Rocky Wirtz took control of the Blackhawks and the umbrella Wirtz Corporation in 2007 after his father, Bill Wirtz, died. At first it seemed the Blackhawks were destined to be governed by Rocky’s younger brother Peter Wirtz, who had been more closely involved with the team for almost 20 years. But Peter “stepped aside” so Rocky could “instill new and fresh leadership into the organization."
In October 2019, Rocky Wirtz told me he was always in line to take charge of the Blackhawks and the Wirtz Corporation since he was the older sibling. Rocky added something interesting as we discussed the team, other Wirtz Corporation businesses and his book “The Breakaway” on his family for The Hockey News 2020 Money & Power edition.
“Everyone has some form of dysfunction in their family,” Rocky said. “We told the story about a family that happened to own a hockey team.”
The Wirtzes own a mammoth liquor distributorship, Breakthru Beverage, a swath of real estate and other interests in addition to the Blackhawks. The team alone was valued at $1.5 billion in 2022 by Forbes.
Rocky Wirtz seemed to be preparing 46-year-old Danny, his only son, to lead the Original Six NHL Franchise. Danny became the CEO of the team after John McDonough was fired in 2020.
Danny was front-and-center at memorial events for Rocky on Aug. 8 and 9. Based on his presence, and comments from presenters, there's little doubt he'll be the new Blackhawks boss.
I spoke to Danny in November 2022 for The Hockey News 2023 Money and Power edition. I’ve summarized the interview here to provide a snapshot on what could be coming as the Blackhawks transition to a fourth generation of Wirtz family leadership heading the 2023-24 season.
Q. You’re in senior positions with several Wirtz Corporation businesses. How does it all work?
Danny Wirtz: I’m the vice chairman of Breakthru Beverage and I’m on the board. We have a new CEO that’s been in place for a year, so he runs the day-to-day business of Beverage. And the same thing with Real Estate; we have hired really good leaders that run these companies.
For me right now, the Blackhawks are sort of what I call my day job and I call my night job in Beverage. Some days it’s more one that the other, but I think’s that’s the nature of a family business.
I think the nature of our family has always been sort of generational in how we think and how we sort of make sure all of these companies are prepared to build for the future. I have the long-game in mind and that allows our executives to operate at a different level.
Q. On the ice, the Blackhawks are going through a rebuild. The organization has gone through controversy and turbulence off the ice with the fallout from the Kyle Beach matter. What’s your vision for the franchise?
Danny Wirtz: Our ultimate purpose that we’ve defined is to make Chicago proud. We sort of wake up every day with that in mind and know that’s it’s not a given at any time, and we have to constantly work at making Chicago proud.
To do that, our stated vision is to re-imagine the potential of hockey. That gets into very specific pillars.
It looks inward to look at how we get there as opposed to just stating the goal. Of course, that’s to win, but from a hockey standpoint it’s having a system, it’s having a level of consistency of elite hockey.
It’s making sure our financial model is evolving over time. It’s delivering on a great fan experience. It’s bringing in new fans and diversifying our audiences. It’s driving impact in purpose in the Chicago area and building a culture that leads into inclusiveness and learning as an organization.
Q: How are the two sides of the Blackhawks organization lining up under Jaime Faulkner, president of business operations, and Kyle Davidson, the hockey general manager?
All things from the business operations side, which include our revenue-generating departments, all marketing communication, youth hockey, all roll up to Jaime. Jaime is an extremely strategic thinker as well. She’s a great partner and collaborator.
All of the hockey operations roll up to Kyle. I’m the enterprise guy that makes sure it all works on behalf of the organization.
We are a very collaborative team between Kyle, Jamie and myself. We spend a lot of time together. We cross-pollinate ideas. We support each division.
We look at it from an enterprise view, so not just the Chicago Blackhawks per se, but also the Rockford IceHogs, our AHL team; and the Fifth Third Community Ice Arena, which is not only our practice facility, but mostly a community asset on the West Side; and then our partnership in the United Center. Those are the things I try to bring together to make sure the total organization is headed in the right direction.
Q. How much does Kyle have to keep you posted on major player moves?
Peter Wirtz: Kyle has a lot of autonomy. If anything, we just like to be kept abreast.
It’s more about helping us understand the thinking behind it. It’s not an approval, as much as staying connected, understanding the strategy and obviously giving him the support he needs to make the decisions that are right for the Blackhawks.
Q. We seen greater diversity among fans at the United Center than even a few years ago. Your dad told me that was a priority for him and the organization. How is that coming along?
Danny Wirtz: Diversity is a lens we apply across everything, to be honest with you. Chicago is an extremely diverse market. If we’re trying to make Chicago proud, we can’t do it with only a slice of the population. We need to be accessible to everyone within the Chicago area.
That starts internally. You really want to build a diverse organization and reflect the market itself. I think our internal demographics are moving in the right direction. We have better representation of women. We have better representation of people of color. If we walk the walk, there’s more we can do externally and that applies to our marketing and making sure it’s inclusive.
Q. How about externally in Chicago?
Danny Wirtz: Our community programs and outreach have been very important in attracting new fans. They often focus on and operate in communities of color where hockey has not been exposed as much. Bringing new groups into hockey is something that’s going to be a consistent focus for the organization. It has to be a priority for everyone, myself down through the organization.
Q: The Blackhawks send players into the communities and invite community members and groups, especially one from within the city, to come learn to skate and play hockey at the Fifth Third Arena (practice facility) on the West Side. What’s been the results?
Danny Wirtz: We have community skates at Fifth Third and sometimes it’s just making sure we’re opening the doors and attracting families from the West Side Community. We’ve also formalized STEM in-school programming and brought hockey into schools through floor hockey and extracurricular activities in predominantly neighborhoods of color.
Here's a video of Blackhawks prospects with kids at a floor hockey clinic on Chicago's West Side in July. https://www.tiktok.com/@br_openice/video/7253177225539833134
And then obviously, we want to bring people into a Blackhawks game. It’s a sport where I truly believe the conversion rate is nearly 100%. You go to a Blackhawks game or any NHL game and the product is extremely exciting and people want to come back.
How are the overall numbers coming along as the Blackhawks try to revitalize their fan foundation?
We’re drilling into the data all time. The question I ask all the time is, “Last night, how many new people came to the game?” If it’s a new customer, for us that’s a new fan.
Not only are we rebuilding on the ice, but are actually starting to build a funnel of new fans.
Q. What are you doing to make it easier for new fans to attend games?
Danny Wirtz: We’ve focused heavily on evolving our ticket offering and packages and how you become a member of the Blackhawks. We've moved from sort of a limited and rigid system of buying tickets to a more flexible system that allows for more options and flexibility to meet the needs of not just tickets, but how people buy anything in this day and age.
We spend a lot of time thinking about the fan journey from when they leave their house to the time they walk through the doors at the United Center. And even the experience for our app and checking in for the game that includes parking, logistics way-finding, food and beverage and the things we bring to life in the game.
We always try to raise the bar around the entertainment value of our games between music, video; lights and effects. We have youth hockey players on the ice to show the future of the sport. Embedding the (native peoples) land acknowledgement into the start of every game, I think. is an important learning experience.
Q. What about new revenue streams for the team?
Danny Wirtz: Merchandise is big. It can be a huge part of our brand and most of our fans are wearing our jerseys and other apparel. We have an expert retail team that understands that and is brining in and creating the right kind of product.
We want to continually engage fans through emerging technology and content platforms. We were one of the last NHL teams to have a TikTok account and now I think we have the highest following on TikTok.
We have a documentary series (on YouTube) called “Every Shift.” It allows is to show off-the-ice, the personalties, the lifestyle the nuance and exciting things that happen that are not often seen in our sports. We’re rebuilding in so many ways and there a fascinating amount of behind-the-scenes things that go into building a team and we wanted to turn the cameras on and show our sans what that process is like.
You're now an alternate NHL governor for the Blackhawks. What's that like?
Danny Wirtz: Jamie Faulkner (Blackhawks president of business operations) and I are alternate governors. We’re sort of at the kids table at this point, the newbies entering the that room and getting to know our fellow governors.
There are a lot of really good, talented people there who are very helpful as we build our (internal Blackhawks) strategy. There’s a lot of pride being in that room where my grandpa and everyone sat.
There’s always just enough chairs for everyone, maybe a little less. So there’s like a second row. It a funny dynamic. It’s obviously a really impressive room of leaders, not just across hockey but some who sit across multiple sports and boards.
We have Garry Bettman telling little interesting stories especially as Bill, my grandfather, was there for the transition from the John Ziegler era to Gary. The commission has been extremely supportive of myself and Jaime. I think he knows Chicago is a very important franchise within in the NHL and he has been nothing but gracious and helpful as we navigate some things.