Blackhawks fans focus on the future

William W. Wirtz wasn't a beloved patriarch of a franchise, like George Halas or Art Rooney. Although I feel sympathy for the Wirtz family for the loss of the man, as a Blackhawk fan I look forward to the team having an owner that is willing to step into the modern era.

I am one of a diminishing number of fans who was alive when Bill Wirtz's father's team hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup. And as one who was able to enjoy watching the talented teams that Mr. Wirtz inherited from his father, Arthur, this fan can only say that, from the time of his stewardship's beginning, the team had diminishing success over time.

It is more than just televising home games or signing popular players, it was the erosion of the game of hockey in the U.S. in general, and in the traditional hockey town, Chicago, in particular.

This fan, like many others, has separated the team's identity from the owner's. Had we not done so, there would be virtually no passionate Chicago hockey fans at all.

Jim Fauci

Roosevelt, Utah

A fresh start

What can I say? I've been waiting for this day for quite awhile. Not Bill Wirtz dying, but instead a new man in charge.

I compare it to Harold Ballard, former owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He drove that team into the ground. After Ballard passed away you could almost feel as if the cloud was lifted. I feel the same way with Wirtz and Chicago.

I won't deny Wirtz was probably a good person in life (I never met him) but his decisions are why the Blackhawks are where they are today.

Trading away cornerstones of a franchise is not a smart move. Detroit Red Wings rewarded their cornerstones and look at them today. It truly feels like a fresh start now.

Logan Reilly

Saskatoon, Canada

Opportunity awaits

A good-hearted person dying is sad. But since Bill Wirtz's hockey team bottomed out with his leadership, it has nowhere to go but up. There is a huge opportunity if the Blackhawks take advantage. A more fan-friendly person will help heal the hurt and revitalize the team.

Harry Tram

Chicago

Restore the pride

Bill Wirtz may have been a great business man, but he was not a good hockey club owner.

I hope his sons don't fall into the same family mind-set and antiquated thinking. They need to reevaluate what having an NHL franchise is all about and what it means to a city and fans world wide(read the chat boards, you'll see).

The whole reason is to win and make money. Doesn't Detroit make money every year? They have been icing a playoff team for years now, and the Blackhawks can't?

You have a perfect opportunity to make something out of the Blackhawks' young, exciting players. Use them to promote your product on TV, like every other NHL team. They can't be all wrong.

Come on Rocky and Peter, shake of the dust of you grandfather and father, it's not 1950s, this is the new NHL, after all, the Blackhawks need new men to restore the Indian head pride.

Jack Scupham

Bridgman, Mich.

Let's hope his sons can change things

First off, one should never be happy at the death of another.

However, Bill Wirtz did not truly care about Blackhawk fans. If he did, he would have realized the error in his ways and corrected them.

While his father is the one who drove out the Golden Jet (I can never forget 6/27/72), Bill drove out J.R., The Eagle and Cheli. He ramrodded the Stadium's demise through the system and made the Blackhawks the NHL's laughingstock.

One can only hope Peter and Rocky get it right, or perhaps better yet, sell the team to Don Levin, who knows how to run a hockey team.

Bob Richter

Lake in the Hills

Televised games would be a start

My condolences to the Wirtz family. I'm sure that Bill Wirtz was a good man on a personal level to his family and friends, and I am sorry for their loss.

However, as a hockey fan, and an ex-Blackhawk fan, I don't wish anyone what he went through. It would have been just as well if he would have sold the team to someone who cared about winning or at least being competitive.

I can only hope that who ever takes over the team will do a better job of putting a more competitive, and fun-to-watch team on the ice every night, and does a better job of marketing the great sport of hockey in what was once a great hockey town. Televised home games would be a great start.

Scott Lamberty

Ingleside

Fans are long gone

In the 15 years since the last Stanley Cup finals involving the Blackhawks, Bill Wirtz has dismantled the team to the point that nobody cares.

You print that the average attendance is 12,700, but no way. Maybe 8,000. He has fleeced his season ticket holders, forcing them to pay full price for preseason games. This has gone on for 30 years. I was at a game last week (free tickets) and maybe there were 2,000 at the game.

Another year begins with another crop of kids that the fans can only hope will become good hockey players. Now that he is gone, maybe if some of these kids reach the stature of Jeremy Roenick or Ed Belfour, the Hawks will be willing to pay them market value and they will stay in Chicago.

Brian Merlo