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In a follow-up interview this week, Wirtz said that the Blackhawks ran out of cash several times last season. Each time, he received a memo, known as an internal capital call, in which the team requested money from Wirtz Corp., the Blackhawks' parent company, to cover operating expenses. And at the end of the season, Wirtz said he double-checked that the playoffs did not cover those losses; the franchise remained in the red, the team's accountant told him.

"We have multiple businesses and obviously we want every one to stand on its own," Wirtz said. "And what you don't want to do is manage one business from the profit of the other one."

But Wirtz pledged he would never revert to the penny-pinching ways of his father.

"We're going to do everything we can to win," team President John McDonough said. "We want this to be a destination for free agents. We want this to be a place where players want to play. … We're going to charter our players (to away games) and we're going to stay in hotels that are going to be synonymous with a first-class operation. When Rocky and I first met, we talked about this commitment."

The team now typically lodges at the Four Seasons. Even last season's interns will receive championship rings.

But the Blackhawks have been able to thrive because Wirtz provides a cushion.

Wirtz Corp. includes Wirtz Beverage Co., a five-state liquor distributorship, which Wirtz said has about $1.5 billion in annual sales; an insurance business; prime real estate; two banks; a 350-acre farm; a stake in Comcast's regional sports network; investments in Alberto-Culver, U.S. Bank, Sally Beauty Supply and The Sun-Times Media Group; and half of the United Center. The Bulls own the other half.

That means the Blackhawks' rent payments end up right where they started: in Wirtz's pocket.

And Wirtz has been able to mine all sorts of synergies between the liquor business and the sports franchise. For the coming season, the Blackhawks plan to add two more bars on the 300 level of the United Center, which are likely to include Wirtz Beverage brands, in addition to the two bars they installed last season.

But some benefits are more subtle, such as offering clients free tickets to games and inviting them to spend intermissions at the Wirtz family's private bar in the art deco Sonja Henie Room. Marketers call it the halo effect.

"Think about how many times Rocky Wirtz's name has been in the newspaper because of the Blackhawks, and he doesn't have to pay for it," said Bill Brandt, chief executive of Development Specialists Inc. and a bankruptcy expert. "And I'm sure potential clients are going to agree to a meeting, just so they can tell their buddies they were hobnobbing with the owner who just won the Stanley Cup. Making money is the least of the Hawks' worries."