Special thanks to reader Raj Binders Labido for pointing this one out in his diary…
It’s being reported on the Blackhawks’ official site that former Chicago Cubs president John McDonough has been hired as the new president of the Blackhawks. According to “The Score” 670 AM radio, McDonough re-signed from the Cubs at 9:00 AM this morning, and was introduced as a member of the ‘Hawks at noon.
From the CBH.com article:
McDonough, 54, joins the Hawks after working in the Chicago Cubs organization for close to 25 years, the last year as the president. As the Cubs chief, and in his previous role as senior vice president of marketing and broadcasting, he was widely viewed as a sports marketing and management innovator who has been credited with playing a major role in growing the Cubs’ fan base and attracting sponsorships for one of the most successful pro sports franchises in the country.
“What John did was create the partnerships that brought resources to the Cubs so they could pursue talented ballplayers. We will be relying on his creativity as he takes the helm of the Blackhawks to help us reach our ultimate goal of winning a championship,” Wirtz said.
Under the multi-year agreement, McDonough will be responsible for all day-to-day operations both on and off the ice. He will report directly to Rocky Wirtz, who will remain actively involved, and work closely with Tallon and Savard.
Being a Cubs fan also, I was pretty surprised to hear this, because I remember McDonough, when he took over as the Cubs president just a year ago, and he made some pretty bold statements about how he wanted to bring the Cubs a championship and how he expected to do it at some point in the near future. Perhaps, with the Cubs supposedly getting new owners soon, he saw the writing on the wall and decided to take advantage of another opportunity?
I think he did a good job as a marketing guy for the Cubs, and now he sort of needs to convince everybody that he will know what he’s doing as the president of the ‘Hawks. It’s an interesting move at this point, and we will see if it pays off.