Blackhawks interim President Danny Wirtz said the new vision for the team is to "reimagine the potential of hockey," with a "real focus around inclusion, growth, engaging new audiences, ensuring that our internal culture and -- at the end of the day -- (making sure) that we're delivering elite hockey on a consistent basis, year after year," according to Ben Pope of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Wirtz admitted that the "philosophy is vague, but it is intentionally." It is intended to "provide a general framework, not a step-by-step plan, for the Hawks moving forward." Meanwhile, Wirtz implied that the search for a team president "remains in relative infancy." Hiring a new president "will serve as the 'end result' of the vision-building process." Wirtz said of the impact that COVID-19 has had on the team, "Overall, it has been a very significant impact to our financial situation. That being said, we will mitigate this time ... (and) as we always have as a family, we play the long game." Wirtz said that he "hasn't yet determined or contemplated his own long-term role with the Hawks," but he "plans to be around, in some capacity, for good" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/31).
