NHL Western Conference Team Reportedly Lands Longtime Head Coach Jeff Blashill
Photo credit: The New York TImes
By all indications, the Chicago Blackhawks could very well be hiring former Detroit Red Wings head coach and Tampa Bay Lightning assistant Jeff Blashill.
It looks as though the Chicago Blackhawks could soon be zeroing in on their next head coach, and it's a figure who already has head coaching experience.
Per multiple reports, former Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill is the frontrunner to be named the official full-time successor to Luke Richardson, who was fired by the Blackhawks in November.
Rockford IceHogs coach Anders Sorenson took over for him on an interim basis for the rest of the year, going 17-30-9 as the Blackhawks missed the playoffs.
Per NHL analyst Elliotte Friedman:
I heard on Friday morning that he was in as the head coach of Chicago - he was going to be the guy. I had a couple people tell me it's too soon. That would be premature. There was a job interview he had somewhere else, but it got canceled. That's why it began to spread like wildfire that he was going to Chicago.
Blashill already holds an extensive head coaching background, having coached in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, United States Hockey League, American Hockey League, and along with USA Hockey.
He served as an assistant coach for the Red Wings on Mike Babcock's staff in 2011-12, and would later take over the coaching duties of their AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins, winning the Calder Cup in 2013.
He was named the head coach of the Red Wings in 2015 after the departure of Mike Babcock and would stay in place until 2022. Detroit, who was entering a rebuilding process, made the playoffs only once in Blashill's tenure.
After being told he wasn't being brought back in 2022, he joined the divisional foe Tampa Bay Lightning to serve as an assistant coach on good friend Jon Cooper's staff; his successor in Detroit was a former Lightning assistant, Derek Lalonde.
Blashill has an NHL head coaching record of 204-261-72.
| POLL | ||
MAI 20 | 501 ANSWERS NHL Western Conference Team Reportedly Lands Longtime Head Coach Jeff Blashill Is Jeff Blashill the right coach for the Blackhawks? | ||
| Yes | 173 | 34.5 % |
| No | 328 | 65.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
