Blackhawks Officially Introduce New GM

The Chicago Blackhawks formally introduced their new general manager on Friday afternoon. In front of a packed house of reporters eager to hear an official response to the maelstrom of the past few weeks, Gidlow spoke alone, and did not mince words about why he was there.

"As much as we would like to have those two - JT Miller and Travis Hamonic - here, they are property of the Vegas Golden Knights," said Gidlow in his opening statement. "That's the way it is. But I can assure everybody in this room, all of the fans of the Chicago Blackhawks, nothing like that will ever happen under my administration."

"I will fire myself if it comes down to it."

It was 20 or so minutes of clear difference from the previous regime. Gidlow spoke of change, in culture, and expectation. He talked about Chicago being an "Original Six city", and Stanley Cups would be the measure of the organization's success.

"I have the full blessing of the ownership here in Chicago, and I'm thankful for that," continued Gidlow. "I made it adamant early on that was one of the conditions I would need to come back to do this."

He also delivered a message from that ownership. "They are very apologetic to the fans for what was a erroneously horrible mistake. They took immediate action to rectify it, and now it's up to the current regime, which is led by myself, to do what we can to bring this team, this organization, back to prominence."

Gidlow moved on to speak of goals, that the club would not be idle this offseason in improving the roster up and down the organization.

"We're going to use all available assets to try to get us to the ultimate goal, which is winning a Stanley Cup here in the Windy City."

Gidlow announced that head coach Gerald Gallant, under presumed fire for helming the ship that saw the Blackhawks finish dead last in the EHE last season, would return for the 2017-18 campaign.

"I think (Gallant) did a tremendous job with what he had to work with," stated Gidlow. "Management decided to take it in one direction. The head coach was tasked with managing a team that had assets moving left and right, changing direction."

"We're going to do everything we can to right that change in terms of bringing this team back to a perennial contender. Gerald Gallant is the right man for the position and will stay the head coach for the forseeable future."

Questions came shortly afterward, and the focus was rightly on Las Vegas and the Expansion Draft debacle. While Gidlow didn't recount specifics about the mistakes made by the previous management team that led to the loss of two top players, or talk in depth about conversations he's had with league officials and the Golden Knights since being hired last week, he did express a desire to move on.

"The penalty was levied by the league as it relates to JT Miller. Hamonic was made available and he was selected, because of the errors of the previous manager. We're not going to put ourselves even further back to reacquire those players, which is what we'd have to do at this point. So we're moving forward."

In terms of his management style, Gidlow expects to use all methods at his disposal to build a contender for every season. Could that mean the second overall pick in the upcoming Entry Draft will be in play?

"I'm not going to sit here and guarantee we're going to make a selection in the first two picks," said Gidlow. "I'm not going to guarantee that we are not going to make a selection. It really depends on the discussions that we have with the 30 other general managers in the league as to whether or not we decide to move the second overall pick."

"I can tell you this: it won't come cheap."

It was brief, but it was powerful. Gidlow and the Chicago Blackhawks needed this badly after taking so many PR hits over the past few weeks. Gidlow may not be a savior, and only time will tell whether or not he succeeds in his quest to bring Stanley Cups back to Chicago. But at the very least, the franchise is in better hands now than it was before he was hired.

"The bucks stops here. When I'm given the responsibility of building and maintaining the hockey side of this organization, I take that very seriously. I very much look forward to it."

Chip Whitley, Beat Reporter
Chicago Tribune