Wirtz on Tallon and 'public dysfunction'

by James Mirtle on Jul 19, 2009 11:55 AM CDT Comment 5 comments

"Being a general manager is an administrative job, a detail-oriented, 9-to-5 job, and that's not Dale. Dale is an excellent judge of talent and character, so let's put him in a position where he can succeed, not try to fence him in when he never has been fenced in the whole time he has worked for us.

"How can you not like Dale? I love Dale — he spoke at my father's funeral. I told him his name will be on the Stanley Cup when we win it."

— Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz

It's easy to be critical of a move that boots out a popular figure after a successful season, but this wasn't trading out a well-liked superstar at the height of his talents for spare parts. Some of the team's most ardent fans gave team president John McDonough a hearty boo at the 'Hawks' recent convention, but when this team steps on the ice and plays to form, Tallon's relocation in the front office will likely be forgotten over the next year or two.

(How often do we, for example, hear about former Sens GM John Muckler and where that franchise was before he was unceremoniously dumped?)

As for the reason Tallon was turfed, based on what Wirtz says, it seems Tom Benjamin was right:

Finally, it doesn’t really matter who is to blame for not getting the qualifying offers out on time. The underling who goofed was not instructed properly, or did not understand the importance of the offers, or was not competent. That goes directly to the concern about Tallon – Is he capable of running a large and complex organization?

McDonough decided that the answer was "No" and so he pulled the trigger despite the fact that he knew he would get blasted for it.

Wirtz called the qualifying offer debacle "an embarrassment for the whole organization," a sign of "public dysfunction" that had to be stamped out. And given how his leadership has turned out so far in Chicago, we'll have to give him the benefit of the doubt that he's accomplished that with this decision.

0 recs | Comment 5 comments | Add comment | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I’m not defending Tallon, but McDonough seems like a bull in a china shop. He might be a marketing genius, but he never won a pennant with the Cubs. As for Wirtz? Well, he still a Wirtz and until they show a unified front, they are still a Wirtz owned team.

I read a comment that there were too many people in the Hawks front office. Detroit has Devellano, Holland, Yzerman, Nill and had Scotty. They didn’t seem to have a problem with too many people.

If I’m a Hawks fan, I don’t like the Hossa signing for one reason. Even before the RFA mix-up, it was hard to see how they were going to keep a lot of their depth players. After the mix-up, some very good hockey players are going to be leaving the Hawks in the next year or so.

Holland and Nill were quoted as saying they were surprised the Hawks went after Hossa because of cap issues down the road. Holland cleary has a different operating philosophy than the Hawks – he was unwilling to break up his team to keep Hossa. Chicago was willing to sacrifice depth to sign Hossa. I’m more inclined to believe Ken Holland and his group over McDonough even with Scotty Bowman as part of the group. Scotty is still sharp as a tack, but I have a hard time believing he’s enjoying the front office politics of the Hawks.

by skatehack on Jul 19, 2009 2:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Can they not just deal Hossa next summer? He ended up with a reasonable contract, term aside.

There’s definitely going to be some pain next summer in Chicago, but why not worry about that then? And, if all else fails, start demoting players to the minors.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Jul 19, 2009 2:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have to say, comparing Rocky Wirtz with Bill Wirtz is just sooo far off the mark. I’m not commenting here in order to blast Bill, but there is more than ample evidence to prove that Rocky isn’t following in anything even resembling his father’s footsteps.

Everyone keeps talking about how worse off we’re going to be once we trade away some of our depth to make room for our approaching big signings; that may be, but the fact of the matter is, we have some formidable talent in Rockford yet, and if people are ready to exercise their clairvoyance for the potential negatives, I’m happy to counter it with potential positive. We will have to trade some players, no doubt, but any team that runs into a bunch of young contract-due players peaking at the same time would’ve run into the same conundrum: tough decisions on who to keep and who to trade. But that’s for next year.

I love the Hossa signing, as you can probably tell. Anytime you can land one of the best offensive talents in the league, you take it. And taking a 5 million cap hit to do is a no-brainer.

by ChicoMaki on Jul 19, 2009 2:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sure they can deal with Hossa and the cap issues next year, but it just illustrates what is wrong with the front office. There doesn’t seem to be any agreement as to what is the best course for a long range plan.

I’m sure Rocky isn’t like his old man. All I know is that his team is the talk of the league for all the wrong reasons, front office politics.

As for moving depth players, Craig Simpson pointed out during the Hawks/Canucks playoff series on HNIC that most of the young Hawk players hang out off the ice. I wouldn’t take that for granted.

by skatehack on Jul 19, 2009 3:20 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I wouldn’t take it for granted either, but nor would I place too much emphasis on it. I thought Savard’s firing was going to prove to be a massive bump, and they reacted really well. I know he wasn’t necessarily an after-game beer bud, but I really think they’re going to be fine.

And no, the front office hasn’t exactly been exemplary this off-season, but given where we’ve been over the last decade with Bill Wirtz, Pulford, Smith … I’ll take it and run.

by ChicoMaki on Jul 19, 2009 4:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

From The Rink: An SB Nation Community

Network Bar

From The Rink -

SB Nation's hockey blog