(picture taken during training camp this year)
Today, the coach Denis Savard of the Blackhawks was just out of nowhere fired. Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to thinks it’s very weird. Now if you’re not into hockey than you would not care. But let it be known that Denis Savard (the coach) is a respected Hall of Fame hockey player. Denis did very well last season and today, everyone is wondering wtf when they see that he was fired.
Read here:
Blackhawks fire coach Denis Savard after 4 games
and Press Conference
What I think is outrageous about this entire thing is the following reason:
“The team is now run by owner Rocky Wirtz, and the combination of a slow start and a big public relations push may have led to Savard's abrupt ouster. The team canceled its Thursday practice and scheduled an afternoon news conference.”
Believe me most folks think Denis had a great season last year. The team was crippled by a bunch of injuries which kept them out of the playoffs.
“John (McDonough, the team president) and Rocky made a commitment to the fans we were going to be in the playoffs and (eventually) win the Stanley Cup," he added. "They probably thought somebody else would be better to get them there. I don't know that.”
There was nothing that has happened yet that said this would not happen with Savard. This is only the very first week of the season. So here is yet another analogy of an owner promising their users way more than they can bite off. So guess what, that justifies firing people who are working very hard and have not been given a chance under you to succeed because of your own mistakes based on promises that are a little bit early to promise Wirtz? I think that’s careless to me. This happens a lot in corporate America. Unrealistic deadlines or expectations and eventually they lose good people because they fire them to save their own ass.
So this year Rocky Wirtz got pissed because the Blackhawks were marketed a LOT last season and this season especially even more after Wirtz got in office. Now, because the coach lost just 3 games, Wirtz is pissed. And so what does he do, he goes and fires a GOOD coach and screws up the team’s stableness and makes a situation now something very uncomfortable not only for the team but fans.
In fact there were strong possibilities that Dale Tallon & Wirtz were going to approve a possible move to get rid of the best goalie they had, Nikolai Khabibulin.
See the following articles on getting rid of Nicolai and then the wise choice by Savard to keep him:
Dale Tallon wanting to rid Nikolai before the season started: Blackhawks put Khabibulin on waivers
Savard wanting to keep him: Khabibulin kept by Blackhawks
That would have been the biggest mistake for the Blackhawks organization; to get rid of the All-Star Khabi, after they just signed an All-Star Cristobal Huet who is doing horribly which is why they lost their first few games. And guess what, they put Nikolai back in on game 4 and he did a great job, and that’s why they started to win again. Now tell me that Wirtz or Dale knows anything about making smart decisions. I would say he has not a clue.
What this does to the moral of a great team is turns it around into a stressful situation. This happens a lot in corporate America. If the coach deserved to get fired that’s one thing, but due to one guy’s selfish worries about looking so great he goes and does something foolish. If you cannot give a hard working coach, manager, or subordinate a decent chance to get things done, and can’t deal with one failure (losing 2 games) then I’d say the Owner is a failure himself.
Good job Wirtz & Tallon, keep up the bad work while you eat your caviar and sip your wine. You’re way out of control about the hype. Settle down.
As one may call this “Code & Run” in development shops, we can equate this to “Hockey & Run” on this note.
John F. McDonough: in the press conference states “This is an ever revolving business” . What this is was carelessness by management and just a unfair political move/conclusion for the organization and its fans as a whole.
Please digg this post if you supported Savard.