McDonough, Blunk Sign Extensions: Smart Move by the Team?

Jim Neveau, PIB Co-conspirator

We all know the story. John McDonough and Jay Blunk, the two headed monster that helped the Cubs achieve their goal of becoming one of the most famous franchises in sports, leave the team and join up with the resurgent Chicago Blackhawks.

Under their watch, the team becomes relevant in the city, hosts a Winter Classic, makes it to the Conference Finals, signs a multitude of big-name free agents, and even sets up a fan convention every summer to keep the team’s name on people’s lips.

With this list of feats as the backdrop, it was announced that Blackhawks’ Chairman Rocky Wirtz had given contract extensions to both McDonough and Blunk for their contributions to the squad. NHL.com wrote up glowing pieces on both men, praising their accomplishments and even adding tidbits about nominations for various awards in the industry.

My question, at least in terms of the message these contracts send, is this: Why?

Now, I can understand that in the world of sports, being rewarded is something that happens for all sorts of accomplishments. Whether it’s reaching the .300 mark in baseball, or averaging 15 points a game in basketball, contract extensions are given out all the time.

In terms of achievements, McDonough and Blunk have done a lot for hockey in the city. There is no one that will dispute the impact that they have had on the Chicago sports landscape.

My contention, however, is that by McDonough’s own admission, there is only one goal that he truly has for the organization, and that is to bring the Stanley Cup back to Chicago.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune’s David Haugh, McDonough had an interesting quote where he said “whatever gene allows you to be satisfied, I don’t have it.”

Haugh went on to say in the next paragraph:

This is why the lifelong Chicagoan tells fans in the corridor congratulating him on the Blackhawk resurgence, “Thanks, but we haven’t done anything yet.”

Keep in mind, this article was posted in November of 2009, which is AFTER the signings of Hossa, Huet, Campbell, the move to televise all games, the Winter Classic, and the team’s Conference Finals appearance. All of these things that the glowing accolade pieces published about the extensions are things that don’t matter in McDonough’s opinion.

So the question that I would have to ask the Blackhawks front office, and especially Mr. McDonough and Mr. Blunk, is this: if you “haven’t done anything yet”, why sign contract extensions?

Extensions are supposed to be a reward for good performance, and while everyone in the media and in the Hawks’ fanbase would agree that you’ve done a good job, your stated goal, above all others, is to WIN a Stanley Cup, and the last time I checked, you have not done that.

You can’t say one thing (”we haven’t done anything yet”) and then turn around and go in a completely contrary direction without there being some legitimate questioning of your character. It has always been a big deal to you to not be satisfied until this team is a championship club, and yet here you are, stopping and smelling the roses with a fat load of fresh cash in your pocket.

Even the headline of the Chicago Blackhawks’ websites’ story reeked of self-satisfaction, with the headline reading “President John McDonough EARNS Multi-year Contract Extension”.

It’s been shown here that McDonough doesn’t really think he’s accomplished anything, and yet the Hawks’ website is claiming he’s “earned” an extension. Perhaps John said it best when he told Haugh “once you’ve stopped to admire something, you’ve just stopped.”

This signing sends the wrong message to Hawks fans who have been told all along that the team is in it to win a Cup, and now the front office is being rewarded even without achieving that goal. It slightly dents the credibility of Blunk and McDonough, making it appear as though the Cup talk is just a convenient PR-friendly tag line instead of a legitimate goal on the horizon.

Don’t let these guys fool you: the Cup may be the ultimate goal, but they are more than happy to pat themselves on the back along the way.