CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks hired Jeff Blashill on Thursday, giving him a second chance to prove himself as a head coach in the NHL.
Jeff Blashill, a Michigan native aged 51, led the Detroit Red Wings for seven seasons before being relieved of his duties following a 32-40-10 record in the 2021-22 season.
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Despite his modest performance in Detroit, where he concluded with a 204-261-72 record, Blashill’s background in developing players likely caught the attention of the rebuilding Blackhawks. He has previous coaching experience in the AHL, USHL, and collegiate levels.
Blashill, a former college goaltender for Ferris State, spent the last three seasons as an assistant to Jon Cooper with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“He has excelled in nurturing young talent and has demonstrated his ability to integrate this skill into the overall success of a team, a vision and strategy that align with ours for both the present and future of the team,” expressed general manager Kyle Davidson in a statement. “We are eagerly anticipating what the future holds under Jeff’s leadership.”
The previous four coaches for Chicago – Anders Sorensen, Luke Richardson, Derek King and Jeremy Colliton – had never been a head coach in the NHL when they got the job with the Blackhawks.
Chicago went 25-46-11 this year, finishing last in the Central Division and No. 31 in the NHL for the second straight season.
Davidson fired Richardson in December, and Sorensen was promoted from the minors to serve as the team’s interim coach for the rest of the season.
Sorensen was a candidate for the full-time job, but he is expected to remain with the franchise in some capacity.
“We love Anders,” Davidson said at the team’s end-of-season media availability in April. “He’s been part of the organization for some time. He’s a great hockey mind, he’s a great person and those are the type of people we want in our organization.”
Blashill, the Hawks’ 42nd head coach, inherits a team with the makings of what looks like a good young nucleus, led by Connor Bedard. It has two first-round selections in each of the next two drafts, to go along with salary-cap flexibility for free agency.
Artyom Levshunov, Colton Dach, Sam Rinzel, Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene each made their NHL debut this year, ramping up hope for the future.
But the Blackhawks averaged just 2.73 goals this season and allowed 3.56 goals per game, 31st in the NHL behind only San Jose. The team has made just one postseason appearance since 2017, and that was the expanded playoff format after the 2020 season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blashill steps into his new job amid preparations for the franchise’s centennial 2025-26 season.
The Blackhawks had some fun with the announcement Thursday, posting mascot “Tommy Hawk” sending out red smoke from the top of the United Center: a play on how the selection of a new pope is announced.
Early reaction from Hawks fans is not favorable.
They wanted a proven NHL coach: someone who can lead the team back to a Stanley Cup.
ABC7 Chicago’s Ryan Chiaverini contributed to this report.
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