Wirtz not worried about high expectations for Blackhawks

There may not be a more popular owner in pro sports than Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz.

And why not?

Since assuming control of the team, Wirtz moved at the speed of sound to right the wrongs of the organization: putting all the games on TV; reconnecting with the fans; and, most important, bringing home the Stanley Cup.

Wirtz isn't moving quite as quickly these days after undergoing a pair of knee operations in the off-season, but that doesn't mean he has slowed down at all.

He's still thinking big, even after a tumultuous off-season in which the team underwent a huge transformation due in large part to salary-cap issues.

In an interview with the Daily Herald, the chairman talks about his health, the Cup, the off-season, and the future of the Blackhawks.

Q. It wasn't just the team that went through a lot this off-season. You underwent two knee operations. How are you holding up?

A. My knees are doing great. I had them done five weeks apart. They're about 90-92 percent now, so they'll be fine. It was a perfect summer to do them.

I still have a cane to get around. It helps my stride because you have to learn to walk again. It sounds easy, but it's hard to do.

I don't know if I can skate (laughs), but I can certainly get around.

Q. Other than going under the knife a couple of times, how did you enjoy the summer with the Stanley Cup?

A. What I think was great was how the team embraced the Cup and embraced the city of Chicago and the fans. The key thing is this team really embraced the fans, and it was the fans who got them there. It was nice to see them be respectful of the fans and be there for them.

I think it shows you what kind of classy guys they are.

Q. Over the summer, the Blackhawks gave Joel Quenneville a contract extension. Talk about the job Q has done since arriving here.

A. What's great is there are a lot of good coaches out there, but where he's really good, in my humble opinion, is he's good with a young team. Knowing what you should do and teaching the system, but being able to motivate them without having them go inward on you and quit.

So you push them, but not too much where they break. That's where I think he's really good. The players embrace him.

He came in at a really difficult time. It wasn't easy to come in with the whole thing with Denis Savard.

Q. Do you feel a sense of satisfaction at how well the coaching switch worked out?

A. It was just putting people in the right spot.

I told Denis at the time that it wasn't his fault that he was in that position. I think we put a tremendous amount of pressure on him, and it wasn't fair for us to do that to him. He was competing against people who had coached 800 to 1,000 games under their belt.

It's senior management's job to put the right people in the right spots and sit back and let them do their job and not overmanage them.

Q. You had to eat Cristobal Huet's big contract. Is that something that was tough to swallow?

A. The important thing is that we did something. It wasn't his fault. I was there when (former GM) Dale Tallon did it and made the recommendation I was very much a part of the decision-making.

If you make a mistake you move on. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, but if we weren't moving ahead and trying to do something we never would have had a contract to eat.

You're going to make mistakes, but the important thing is we're willing to make decisions and move ahead and not sit back and dwell and point fingers because someone might not have panned out.

Huet helped tremendously last year. You look at his record he helped get us to the playoffs. He was very important.

Q. Finish this sentence: It will be a successful season if …

A. If we really show well in the playoffs.

Q. So it doesn't have to be a repeat, just a strong showing in the playoffs?

A. You have to set that goal (to win the Cup) every year, but I don't want to say it's not a successful season (if we don't). If we show well in the playoffs we'll be just fine.

Our goal is to be consistently good over a long period of time. That's not promising a Stanley Cup every year, but that's saying we're going to be consistently good, so that's what I'm saying.

If you lose in seven games in the playoffs, is it a disaster? Of course not. Of course you want to win. I think we're going to be right there, and I think everyone is going to be pleasantly surprised with some of these kids we have coming up.

Q. Are you worried that fans' expectations are too high?A. I'd rather have them high and showing up than being low and being indifferent. There's nothing wrong with high expectations. Being good is not good enough. We want those expectations to be high because we put those upon ourselves. We put more pressure on ourselves than I think the fans do, and I think that's OK.