Where should the next Blackhawks general manager come from?

With the Chicago Blackhawks firing team president John McDonough you can say that change is in the air. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be more change sooner rather than later.

Rocky Wirtz has done his best this past decade remaking the Blackhawks into a great team. He helped bring three championships to the city and helped reignite the energy around this team to the point that Blackhawks fans continue to be the best despite on-ice struggles.

Change is coming with how bad the Blackhawks have been in the last few seasons. I do not think this play-in series is going to change anything when it comes to the long-overdue change that needs to come to the general manager position.

I do not think Stan Bowman is going to be with the Blackhawks for that much longer as a general manager. So, that raises the question of where the Blackhawks are going to find their next general manager. I can’t even begin to think of names, instead, rather I want to think of where their new candidate could come from.

Stan Bowman worked under Dale Tallon before becoming a general manager in 2009. I would expect to see something similar to someone in the Blackhawks organization should they fire Bowman. That is what the Buffalo Sabres recently did when they let go of most of their staff and kept only a few people. No matter how you feel about doing this, it does keep someone who understands the organization in charge.

Of course, some other teams have opted to bring in a younger new face to help lead the team. This helps bring in new blood and cuts all tides to an old GM. It is interesting to see teams fire one staffer only to raise that guy’s number two to the top position. It almost seems counterproductive as it keeps a similar thinker with the team.

Hopefully, whoever becomes the next general manager is new to the team. I’d like to see someone new and fresh who is ready to reinvent the Blackhawks while honoring their past success. Now, no matter who becomes the GM, one thing is certain.

We need to give the Blackhawks a new general manager after Bowman enough time to get a firm grip on the organization. A GM is not working on just the current season, they are looking two or three years down the line as well. No matter who the GM is we need to give them enough time no matter the success.

Look at how many GMs the Blackhawks had from 1990 to 2009. 7 GMs serving at different times throughout the 19 years that did not see too much success for the Blackhawks. The longest one GM had throughout that time was Bob Pulford who had a few stints as general manager at that time.

I do not care if the next general manager makes a deal that looks bad to us fans. Whoever it needs to be given the five or six years to try and change this team before we really judge their success. It is only a matter of time before we see if any of this will happen.