FanHouse John McDonough

The renaissance of the Chicago Blackhawks is well-chronicled. After not making the Western Conference Finals once since 1995, Chicago got to the NHL's final four in 2008. A five-game series loss to Detroit ended their magical run, but the pieces are in place for the Blackhawks to again be a perennial contender in the NHL.

One of those key pieces is forward Patrick Kane. After posting over 140 points in his first two NHL seasons, the dynamic youngster graces the cover of EA Sports' NHL 10. Kane spoke with FanHouse about the game, the Blackhawks, and what was a tumultuous summer.

There have been some huge stories during the NHL offseason. Many of them have involved the Chicago Blackhawks.

With that in mind, FanHouse recently caught up with Comcast SportsNet Chicago analyst Ed Olczyk -- perhaps better known for his work as a main analyst for Versus and NBC -- to get his take on all the changes happening in the Windy City. Olczyk was born in Illinois, played part of his career for the Blackhawks, and still has some very strong feelings about the team, not to mention the state of affairs in the NHL.

The last 36 or so hours have been quite interesting for the Chicago Blackhawks. It started early Tuesday, when word got out that general manager Dale Tallon was fired (he was actually re-assigned) and replaced with assistant GM Stan Bowman.

When former Blackhawk star Martin Havlat got word, he used Twitter to express his frustration with Tallon's removal. He then spoke (thus avoiding that darn 140-character limit) to TSN's Darren Dreger. When he did that, he chucked Blackhawks president John McDonough under the bus. McDonough got his chance to respond Wednesday.

The Chicago Blackhawks continued to make major improvements to their front office by hiring another prized free agent, Chicago Cubs president John McDonough.

While this move might not seem like much to the common hockey fan ("Who the hell is John McDonough??", I bet you are asking), the guy seem to be exactly what the Hawks need: Somebody who knows how to put asses in seats.

As per Mike Imrem of the Daily Herald, The Cubs, under McDonough's marketing expertise, became the 'must-see' team in Chi-Town, and regularly filled their ancient ballpark. If anyone can bring marketing expertise to the Hawks, it's someone who had a hand in shaping one of the country's most valuable sports franchises.

Man, we're talking an ingenious move by both McDonough and Hawks new patriarch Rocky Wirtz.

Odd as it sounds, it already seemed with the change at the ownership level that the Hawks were in better shape in and out of the arena than Chicago's other pro sports franchises currently are.

Adding McDonough is just another giant step in that direction.

With new ownership, new management, more home games on TV, and some fine young rookie talent, it's time for Chicagoans to jump back on the Hawks bandwagon.