Rocky Wirtz, Chairman of Chicago N.H.L. Team, Dies at 70
Wirtz took over the Blackhawks after his father's death and helped make them a successful team, but an assault accusation that was not handled well has caused some of that success to be forgotten.
W. Rockwell Wirtz was known as Rocky and the Chairman of the N.H.L. The Chicago Blackhawks' chairman W. Rockwell Wirtz, nicknamed Rocky, passed away on Tuesday.
The Blackhawks tweeted Wirtz's passing, but they did not specify the cause of death or its location.
Danny Wirtz said, in a press release, that his heart was heavy. Danny Wirtz is Rocky's father and the CEO of the team. Our dad was a businessman who was passionate about making Chicago an amazing place to visit, live and work, but his real love was his family and friends.
Wirtz's great-grandfather Arthur
After working in realty, he had taken control of the team when Rocky was just 2 years old. Arthur Wirtz also had a hotel, and furniture business. In 1971, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and credited with using his "financial power to help strengthen the standing of N.H.L." In the United States.
The Wirtz Corporation is the name of the company that represents the family businesses. These include real estate, banking, insurance, beverage distribution, sports and entertainment. Rocky Wirtz has been the president and chairman of the team of the Wirtz Corporation since 2007. He assumed these roles following the death of
William, his father
.
Chicago hockey fans were quick to criticize William Wirtz's team management for refusing to broadcast most of their home games. They also criticized him for his poor performance on the ice and for being reluctant to sign free agents, earning the nickname Dollar Bill. But the team rose to prominence again in the 2010s.
Rocky Wirtz
He reversed some of the policies of his father
The rules governing televised sports and tickets, as well as the other regulations, are all included in this.
Dip into the money of other family businesses
The hockey team needs to be supported.
Chicago won three Stanley Cups during the decade in 2010, 2013, and 2015. This ended a championship drought dating back to 1961.
The glory of those championships was lost when the a
The team has commissioned an investigation for 2021
The investigation found that Blackhawks executives failed to report a claim that the video coach of the team sexually assaulted a minor-league player during the 2010 playoffs.
Investigation revealed that executives were worried about distracting a team, and did not conduct a thorough investigation or punish the coach Brad Aldrich who made a sexual move on a team intern. Aldrich went on to work in other hockey jobs and plead guilty to having sexual contact with a child while working as a high-school coach in Michigan. He was also required to register himself as a sex offenders.
Rocky Wirtz refused to answer reporters' questions during a 2022 town hall. He also declined to discuss the player Kyle Beach who brought forward the 2010 allegations and what the team planned to do in the future to protect its players. He later apologized.
The N.H.L. The N.H.L. fined the team a total of $2 million and two executives, who were among those informed about the allegations in 2010, resigned. The league has been criticized by fans and the media for not taking more severe punishment. Chicago won the lottery and retained its first-round pick for 2023, allowing it to select
Connor Bedard
A prospect considered to be a talent of the next generation.