---
title: "NYT: When Ownership Changed in 2007, So Did the Blackhawks"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/5f520ac7-716a-4d6f-ba64-c25ac0c3160f
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/nyt-when-ownership-changed-in-2007-so-did-the-blackhawks-1839
category: "General"
published: 2015-06-16T20:15:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T12:24:04.710Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/8d777f385d3dfec8815d20f7496026dc72.png
---

# NYT: When Ownership Changed in 2007, So Did the Blackhawks

**TL;DR:** The Chicago Blackhawks' ownership change in 2007 is attributed to their turnaround from a less-than-glorious past. The team won its third Stanley Cup in six years after Rocky Wirtz took over as owner from his father Bill Wirtz.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2015-06-16. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/nyt-when-ownership-changed-in-2007-so-did-the-blackhawks-1839).*

## Story

Improving a franchise can be tough work.

Now imagine your franchise is barreling down some ice with blades strapped to its feet and sweaty men missing teeth doing their best to slam it into a wall. Welcome to the Blackhawks franchise.

Chicago’s pro hockey team just won its third Stanley Cup in six years, and many are wondering just what turned the team around from its less-than-glorious recent past. While new players and coaching staff were vital factors, The New York Times made the case that change in ownership was the true catalyst.

Once ownership passed from Bill Wirtz – the roundly disliked longtime owner – to his son Rocky Wirtz, it represented a changing of the guard. The younger Wirtz went to work reversing many of the unpopular policies his father had enacted while also focusing on modernizing the franchise’s marketing efforts.

From fans booing the previous owner when he would attend games to the club becoming one of the most popular in the NHL, it’s clear that shaking things up played a major role in the Blackhawks’ reversal of fortune.

It’s also a solid reminder that any franchise can be improved by making the right changes, whether that includes a change of ownership, increased marketing or simply revisiting policies that may be unpopular.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- General (sector)
- ownership change (topic)
- NHL (company)
- franchise turnaround (topic)
- nhl team (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/nyt-when-ownership-changed-in-2007-so-did-the-blackhawks-1839). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/5f520ac7-716a-4d6f-ba64-c25ac0c3160f).