During his younger years, Blackhawks chairman Danny Wirtz strolled the United Center concourses inconspicuously.
These days, fans stop him much more frequently. But in contrast to some of the vitriol spewed at the Hawks daily on social media, the vast majority of feedback Wirtz receives in person is positive.
“At least the folks who come up to me, they get it,” he said. “They know the work it takes to build a championship team. They believe in the process we’re going through. Fans have been tremendously patient, and that’s something we’re very grateful for.”
Three years into Kyle Davidson’s tenure as general manager, the Hawks have made sizable progress in their rebuild, but the fruits of that work aren’t too noticeable on the ice yet. They’re more competitive this season but still nowhere near playoff contention.
That reality, combined with the fact that the last two seasons were (intentionally) two of the worst in franchise history, has understandably worn some fans’ patience thin.
But the majority have maintained patience, deriving optimism from a prolific prospect pool and the consistency of Davidson’s methodology. And a sliver even believe so wholeheartedly in the potency of this rebuilding process that they’re concerned Davidson, by making the team more competitive this season, might be moving too quickly.
In other words, Hawks fans can be divided into three camps: the impatient, the patient and the ultra-patient. Out of 1,639 voters in a poll on X on Thursday, 44.2% fell into the impatient group, 53.0% into patient and 2.9% into ultra-patient.
“Myself included, [I’m asking], ‘Are you sure, Kyle, there’s not a fast-forward button here?’ ” Wirtz said. “We’re all antsy to get there. But it just speaks to the knowledge of our fan base. They really get it.”
What’s your big-picture opinion about the current state of the Blackhawks’ rebuild?
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) October 31, 2024
The impatient perspective
Alek Madry, a chemical engineering major at Northwestern, loves the Hawks’ “student rush” program, which offers local college students cheap last-minute tickets.
But when it comes to the current state of the rebuild, his feelings are mixed.
“I like Davidson’s plan of being patient,” Madry said. “But patience can sometimes land you in a spot like Detroit, Ottawa and Buffalo, and that’s the nightmare scenario: You have pieces that theoretically should work, and then they just don’t work.”
Madry, one of many fans who spoke with the Sun-Times for this story, believes there’s now increased pressure on Davidson to align the Hawks’ ascension with star forward Connor Bedard’s prime. Madry looks at the Rangers, who abruptly accelerated their rebuild in 2019 with the additions of Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin, as proof it’s possible for things to change quickly.
“I’ll be in a panic if, after this season, we don’t go after someone who’s a little more notable,” Madry said. “I’m talking about a genuine top free-agent signing. This is the time to start thinking about who’s available. [Artyom] Levshunov and [Frank] Nazar, they’re not going to come up and be saviors here, and they shouldn’t have to be.”
Meanwhile, fans such as Dan Duffy, a 72-year-old Wisconsin resident, find that their impatience stems more from general skepticism of scorched-earth rebuilding. Duffy’s opinion is shared by many fans, particularly older ones: Whether or not the Hawks’ rebuild proves successful in the end, the notion that success in pro sports requires waiting through years of failure seems illogical.
“I get the [value of the] draft picks, but it’s tough to tell because so many of these guys they’ve drafted high are in the minors,” Duffy said. “It could be another couple years before we see this start looking good. . . . It’s tough to swallow when you have nothing to look forward to from your favorite team.”
Some fans find it unfair they’re forced to watch such ugly hockey year after year. Others worry about an inescapable losing culture taking root in the locker room.
And others worry about the Hawks putting their future in the hands of unproven prospects, citing late-Stan Bowman-era busts such as Ian Mitchell, Nicolas Beaudin and Dylan Sikura.
The ultra-patient perspective
Hawks fan Maxwell Long believes in scorched-earth rebuilding as much as anyone, Davidson included.
In fact, he believes the Hawks should keep it up until they land another top-three or top-five draft pick, ideally next summer. He supported Davidson’s choice to take Levshunov over Ivan Demidov with the No. 2 draft pick last summer, but they now need another Demidov-like forward prospect to complete their pool.
And Long is concerned the Hawks’ current roster might be too competent for that to happen. Because the 2025 draft class has only four forwards considered elite — James Hagens, Porter Martone, Michael Misa and Roger McQueen — picking eighth or so wouldn’t be high enough.
“When I look at this team’s future, I’m not trying to build for just one [Stanley] Cup,” Long said. “I can see a path where we can build toward a proper cap-era dynasty. But that only happens if Davidson doesn’t rush things.
“We’re missing the top-line talent that can keep up with and elevate Bedard. I’m worried this management group is going to be all too happy dipping into free agency. Ultimately, what you’re doing is limiting your window and tightening your cap situation.”
At the far end of this spectrum sit fans such as Zack Ryan, who identifies as “very patient” with the rebuild but nonetheless feels pessimistic about it.
He agrees with Long that the Hawks need to tank until they get another elite forward prospect, but he has disagreed with many of the drafting decisions Davidson has made so far. He questions the Hawks’ mediocre track record with developing forwards, and he considers the overall forward prospect pool overrated.
“I think our prospects are pretty weak,” Ryan said. “There has to be patience because . . . there is a talent deficit when it comes to upfront talent. You look at almost every other competitive team in the league and there is more than just one elite player, right?”
Safe to say, perspectives within the Hawks’ fan base vary widely.
“I’m in group chats where everyone agrees this is the final year it makes sense to straight-up tank,” Long said. “But if you go to the Hawks’ Reddit forum, everyone is there to root for success right now. That’s fine. It’s just, in my opinion, a little short-sighted.”
