The United Center, home of the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls of the NBA, announced Thursday that for all events at the venue, fans will need proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. This new guideline is in conjunction with the state-wide indoor mask mandate.
Blackhawks shake up the front office
In an offseason of change, the Blackhawks have shook up the front office. Jay Blunk, former executive VP, Maria Sutera, former VP of HR and James Gary, former skills coach, have all left the organization according to The Athletic’s Scott Powers. Ben Pope of the Sun-Times confirmed all four are no longer listed on the employee directory.
Pope dives deeper into the reasons for the Gary and Sutera departures.
James Gary and Marie Sutera are both tied to the Bradley Aldrich scandal.
Gary allegedly convinced the Blackhawks player in 2010 that the assault was his own fault.
Sutera allegedly told Michigan police in 2013 they’d have to subpoena the Hawks to get information on Aldrich.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) September 2, 2021
Blunk joined the Blackhawks at the same time as former president John McDonough in 2007. McDonough was dismissed in April of 2021.
While not all the news surrounding the Blackhawks is about departures, the Blackhawks have added the founder of CapFriendly, Dominik Zrim, to be their manager of hockey strategy. Powers was also the first person to report on this story.
Stay tuned for all Blackhawks news here at The-Rink.com.