When the Chicago Blackhawks fired Luke Richardson, general manager Kyle Davidson’s reasoning for the move was the team’s lack of growth. There’s also the part about how Connor Bedard is in his second season, and his team hasn’t made much, if any, progress around him.
There’s a delicate balance that has to be struck in a rebuild when picking a coach, and while Richardson was initially the guy, things change. The first one out the door when things aren’t hitting the way they should is the coach.
Anders Sorensen took over as the interim head coach, and although he may wind up taking over full-time, there are other options out there who could fit the bill for what Chicago is looking to do while Bedard ascends. We’ve got a list of a few guys to keep in mind for the Chicago job when they decide it’s time to get someone in place for real.
As always, let us know in the comments who we missed and what you think of those we mentioned.
If there’s a favorite for the Chicago job, it’s the guy who’s got it right now. Sorensen took over on December 7, and the team hasn’t seen an immediate spark of improvement. In games under Sorensen, they’re averaging just over two goals per game and giving up a lot more (3.5 goals per game). With Petr Mrazek injured, that was to be expected, but after Chicago added a lot of veteran players in the offseason to surround Bedard, the lack of overall production is concerning.
Sorensen is in a tough spot because he’s new to being an NHL head coach after he was promoted from Rockford in the AHL. There, he’s done well getting the IceHogs to the playoffs in his three seasons behind the bench.
He has experience with their younger players and that’s huge, especially with Frank Nazar III and Kevin Korchinski up from the minors. It’s that connection Chicago management is banking on for the rest of the season, and if he’s able to get things turned around, that will be a huge boost to support his case for the full-time appointment.
When Jay Woodcroft was fired by the Edmonton Oilers last season, it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before he was hired by another team. What may have hurt his case was how well the Oilers played after his departure on the way to making it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Those who know well enough realize he couldn’t control how poorly Oilers goalies played to start last season, and the way the team functioned outside of that was still very good. That experience and that kind of success should be valuable to any team, and his experience coaching elite players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl would (ideally) gives him an advantage when it comes to working with someone like Connor Bedard.
Fans get tired of seeing coaches getting recycled, but Woodcroft is still relatively “new” to the mix given the Oilers job was his first NHL head coaching gig. He would seem to be someone that a team in need of a higher-profile coach would take a long look at.
