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McDonough was hired as team president in 2007,
and he added the CEO title four years later.
The Blackhawks won NHL championships in 2009-10, 2012-13 and
2014-15, but they were sitting in last place in the Central
Division when the current season was halted March 12 due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
Team chairman Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz made the announcement, and
he appointed his son, 43-year-old Danny Wirtz, to be the interim
replacement for McDonough as president.
"Thirteen years ago, I recruited John to the Blackhawks because
of his leadership, direction and vision," Rocky Wirtz said in a
statement. "John brought all of that to the table and more. His
contributions went well beyond leading the team to three Stanley
Cup Championships. He rebuilt the front office and helped guide
the organization toward a winning vision.
"As difficult as this is, we believe it was the right decision
for the future of the organization and its fans."
Even though the Blackhawks have sold out 531 consecutive home
games, Wirtz cited the shutdown caused by COVID-19 as a moment
to review the club's direction.
"While we can reassure our fans there will be hockey again, no
one knows what that will look like. What we do know is that it
will take a new mindset to successfully transition the
organization to win both on and off the ice," Rocky Wirtz said.
McDonough was the member of the Chicago Cubs front office from
1983-2007, serving as president in his final season there before
moving to the Blackhawks.
Danny Wirtz had been a Blackhawks vice president, alternate
governor to the NHL, vice chairman of the team's charitable
foundation and representative to the United Center Joint
Venture.
"I cannot adequately express my family's appreciation to John
for his contributions to the turnaround of the Chicago
Blackhawks organization," Danny Wirtz said in a statement. "I
take this interim role with the utmost responsibility to the
team and will focus on resetting the framework for the next
generation of the Chicago Blackhawks. I look forward to working
with Rocky to identify our next leader."
--Field Level Media
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