Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer approached by Blackhawks

The NHL Chicago Blackhawks will be seeking a new general manager for 2022-2023 and beyond. Their current interim GM, Kyle Davidson, took over the team’s hockey operations in October after Stan Bowman resigned because of his involvement in the disturbing sex scandal within the organization in 2010. As the team puts together strategies and best practices to search for permanent front office personnel, they went out and sought some guidance from others. One of the reported consulted parties included Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer.

A report from hockey insider Frank Seravalli tells how Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz and President of Business Operations Jaime Faulkner went out to “pick the brains” of several executives, and Hoyer was one of them.

Chicago Cubs recent infrastructure overhaul sets an example for the Blackhawks

In November 2020, Theo Epstein departed the Cubs organization and Hoyer was promoted from GM to President of Baseball Operations. It was not until after the 2021 season ended a few months ago that Hoyer was able to assemble an infrastructure underneath him, including hiring general manager Carter Hawkins and assistant general manager Ehsan Bokhari – among others.

Seems like the Blackhawks wanted to pick Hoyer’s brain on how he developed strategies in assembling a new organizational infrastructure. This could include how to approach certain people, the process of developing a philosophy and mindset on how they want their front office to function and how to create the chain of command in a front office in the modern sports world.

Unlike the previous Blackhawks regime under Bowman, Wirtz and company want their organization to catch up and exceed the game of hockey, which had passed them by since their last Stanley Cup victory in 2015. Hoyer is dealing with a similar issue. After a dominant run of playoff wins and a championship in 2016, baseball quickly passed the Cubs by, and now they are trying to adapt and catch up.

Hoyer had poached a lot of great minds from recently successful organizations to improve the scouting, development and assembling of players with the ultimate goal of returning to sustained contention. Overall, the Blackhawks consulting with Hoyer makes sense.

It is also worth noting that Seravalli’s report mentions the fact that Faulkner’s husband, Colin, works for the Cubs organization so there is a connection between the two historic franchises. The Blackhawks had also consulted with former Seattle Mariners executive Joe Bohringer per the report.

It is always interesting to see one of Chicago’s major five sports teams working with another, even if it is just for seeking strategy. Will the Bears do the same thing come January?