List of Chicago Blackhawks general managers

The Chicago Blackhawks are an American professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the Central Division of the Western Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL).^[1] The team was first named the "Chicago Black Hawks", until 1986, when spelling found in the original franchise documents spelled the franchise name as the "Chicago Blackhawks", making the team change its name in response.^[2] The team is also referred to as the "Hawks".^[3] The Blackhawks began their NHL play in the 1926–27 season as an expansion team with the Detroit Cougars and the New York Rangers, and is one of the Original Six teams.^[4] The franchise has 6 Stanley Cup championships, most recently winning in the 2014–15 season. Having played in the Chicago Coliseum (1926–1929) and the Chicago Stadium (1929–1994), the Blackhawks have played their home games at the United Center since 1994. The team has had nine general managers since their inception.^[5]

For much of the early history of the Chicago Black Hawks, the title of "general manager" did not exist. Much of the work of managing the team operations, player contracts and the like was done by owner Frederic McLaughlin, with Bill Tobin as his assistant. Tobin joined the team in 1926 after a brief playing career as a goaltender. He has been variously named as a ticket taker, stick boy^[6] and first general manager by appointment by McLaughlin from that time. Tobin held several titles during his term with the Black Hawks. He coached for two years in the 1930s. On the 1934 Stanley Cup win, Tobin is listed as secretary-treasurer. In 1938, Tobin was named president of the team, and for all practical purposes was general manager from that time forward, although McLaughlin stated at the time that it was a change in title only. After McLaughlin died, Tobin was part-owner and president of the team. The actual title of general manager was created in 1952, and Bill Tobin held the title in addition to the title of vice-president.^[6] Even when Tommy Ivan was hired in 1954, his title was manager of hockey operations, including the farm team.^[6]

Key

Key of terms and definitions

Term	Definition
No.	Number of general managers[a]
Ref(s)	References
–	Does not apply
	Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder category

General managers

General managers of the Chicago Blackhawks

No.	Name	Appointment	Departure	Accomplishments and events during this term	Ref(s)
1	Frederic McLaughlin	September 25, 1926	1942	Won Stanley Cup two times (1934, 1938)	[7]
2	Bill Tobin	1942	July 7, 1954	Appeared in Stanley Cup Finals in 1944	[6]
3	Tommy Ivan	July 7, 1954	July 6, 1977	Won Stanley Cup (1961)	[6][8]
4	Bob Pulford	July 6, 1977	June 5, 1990		[8][9]
5	Mike Keenan	June 5, 1990	November 6, 1992	Appeared in Stanley Cup Finals in 1992	[9][10]
–	Bob Pulford	November 6, 1992	July 3, 1997		[10][11]
6	Bob Murray	July 3, 1997	December 2, 1999		[11][12]
–	Bob Pulford (Interim)	December 2, 1999	September 22, 2000		[12][13]
7	Mike Smith	September 22, 2000	October 24, 2003		[13][14]
–	Bob Pulford	October 24, 2003	June 21, 2005		[14][15]
8	Dale Tallon	June 21, 2005	July 14, 2009		[15][5]
9	Stan Bowman	July 14, 2009	—	Won Stanley Cup three times (2010, 2013, 2015)	[5]

Notes

• ^a A running total of the number of general managers of the franchise. Thus any general manager who has two or more separate terms as general manager is only counted once.

See also

• List of NHL general managers

References

• All-Time Blackhawks General Managers / Head Coaches – Chicago Blackhawks – History, Chicago Blackhawks, retrieved July 15, 2015