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ANALYSIS: The Jaime Faulkner myths

  
ANALYSIS: The Jaime Faulkner myths
Context be darned, some Chicago Blackhawks fans refuse to believe anything other than President of Business Operations Jaime Faulkner being the problem with the organization, a simply ignorant theory. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks)

At the tail end of the another dismal season, a certain sect of Blackhawks fans have decided to vent their frustrations against the Blackhawks President of Business Operations Jaime Faulkner.

Now, these fans have taken to social media creating accounts accusing Faulkner of all kinds of issues plaguing the Blackhawks organization. Sadly, the majority of these claims are half-truth (at best) or given without context.

In this article, I am going to address some of the issues being attributed Faulkner. Some of the issues are farcical, some are prejudicial and some are legitimate.

CHSN and Comcast deal

The first issue attributed to Faulkner is the non-deal between CHSN and Comcast. As everyone knows, the home of the Blackhawks — CHSN — is not currently on Comcast. Comcast is the largest cable provider in Chicago. Fans frustrated over the deal have decided that despite no indication of her involvement, Faulker is to blame for the deal not being done.

Jeff Agrest of the Sun-Times reiterated that the owners of the Blackhawks are not blameless in the CHSN issues and clarified that Faulkner is not at the negotiating table on the CHSN deal.

While Faulkner is a leader in the Blackhawks organization, she is not directly involved in the CHSN negotiation with Comcast.

Faulkner hated her first Blackhawks game

In an interview with CHGO, Faulkner addressed her first experience at the United Center. In 2011, she was at a game with her family when two fans spilled beer on her after a Blackhawks goal. Here is the full clip in which she tells the story.

So when people on social media say she “hated ” her first Hawks game, they conveniently leave out the beer being spilled on her. A realistic person would have a sour experience if that happened to them, regardless of anything else that took place. In the interview, she also reiterates that she is trying to fix the issue of cup holders at the United Center.

Removal of the ice girls

Every NHL team has an ice crew that cleans the ice during stoppages. From 2003–2021, the Blackhawks had a group of women in “uniforms” that cleaned the ice and attended watch parties at bars. The group was called the Ice Girls. The Ice Girls were the subject of controversy within the organization for a long time. In 2014, Blackhawks fans, led by Marissa Miller, helped the Blackhawks ban the song “The Stripper.” “The Stripper” was played when an attractive woman shot the puck during intermission. While Miller’s first objective was to ban to the song, her second objective involved the Ice Girls.

Miller’s second objective is for the Blackhawks to clothe the women who are members of the Ice Crew appropriately to do their job of shoveling ice during media timeouts. The Ice Crew’s uniforms for women include short skirts and crop tops.

Despite Miller’s efforts in 2014, the Ice Girls remained until 2021. Following the release of the Block and Jenner report, the Blackhawks made more of an effort to have diverse ideas within the organization. While the organization mired in the turmoil of the Kyle Beach lawsuit, they decided to end the Ice Girls and have a traditional ice crew.

The majority of franchises in the NHL have traditional Ice Crews with fully covered men and women. Examples include the Anaheim Ducks, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes and many others. Aside from the Dallas Stars, most NHL franchises have gone away from a scantily clad crew. So while Faulkner gets blamed for ending the Ice Girls, circumstances and the league trends influenced the decision.

Marketing, promotional events and giveaways

While the prior gripes with Faulkner were farcical and prejudicial, these grips are legitimate. Until recently, the marketing around the Blackhawks has been scare. Aside from Connor Bedard, the Hawks have not had any players really to market. Seth Jones might have been a candidate until his trade. Since the Jones trade, the Blackhawks’ promotions department has made a concentrated effort to incorporate some of the younger players into promotional ads.

Artyom Levshunov, Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic have been featured more heavily in ads since the Jones trade.

Another gripe has been the lack of giveaways. The Blackhawks have only had a few giveaways this season: the Hockey Fights Cancer beanie, St. Patrick’s Day, a Connor Bedard player pin and a Nick Foligno player pin. In prior seasons, there would have been more bobblehead nights for stars of the team. However, aside from Bedard, the Hawks have lacked other stars to market.

In addition to not “enough” promotional nights, the big promotion this season for the Blackhawks was the “Best Day Ever” games heard toward kids, a crucial section of the fan base for the future.

“The Chicago Blackhawks are excited to launch the ‘Best Day Ever’ game series that marks a celebration for Blackhawks fans of all ages with a strong focus on youth and the future of hockey, both on and off the ice,” said Jaime Faulkner, President of Business Operations for the Chicago Blackhawks. “With entertainment for our next generation of fans at the forefront of this series of games, the team looks forward to building their love of hockey for years to come.”

While not geared toward adults, the Best Day Ever program seems to be an effort to bring young fans into loving the Blackhawks, which is indisputably important for the future of the fan base.

Analysis

With the Blackhawks not winning on the ice, fans are venting their frustrations in other places. Faulkner is an easy target because she is a woman in a high-ranking position. As pointed out in the body of this article, the majority of things attributed to her contain half-truths or little or no context.

Is Faulkner blameless for things happening in the Blackhawks organization? No; she made a misstep in the broadcast both with the hirings of Chris Vosters and Colby Cohen. She then corrected the mistake by hiring Rick Ball and Darren Pang.

The cutting of the promotional days was also a mistake because with a team mired in such bad play, you need to try to find ways to get people in the building.

Sadly, the only way to take the “old boys club” focus off Faulkner is for the Hawks to start winning hockey games, as people hurling accusations at Faulkner are not interested in common sense or reality. If the Hawks start winning games, all of the other issues fade to the background as all of the fans bask in the glory of success. With the current construction of the team and the draft picks finally rising up to the pro level, the Hawks hope to have success soon.

In terms of the Faulkner myths, before you attribute something to her, do your research and give context to the situation.

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