Washington Capitals organization completes surprise coaching change involving a former Blackhawks head coach

Over this past weekend, chatter began rising regarding the head coaching vacancy with the Hershey Bears, where multiple sources confirmed an official announcement would be made shortly.

Now, a revelation from AHL reporter Tony Androckitis has revealed that former Chicago Blackhawks bench boss Derek King is expected to be announced as the next head coach of the Hershey Bears.

The Bears announced that they would be announcing their newest head coach today as we await the official confirmation, but it's just a matter of when not if King becomes their next bench boss.

Hershey lost their Calder Cup-winning head coach Todd Nelson this summer as he departed to take on a much bigger role with the Pittsburgh Penguins as their newest assistant head coach.

King, 58, spent time with the Chicago Blackhawks organization from 2016 all the way till 2025, serving as their head coach, assistant, and in other various roles with their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.

He was recently relieved of his duties in Chicago due to the newest hiring of Jeff Blashill alongside a rejuvenated staff of assistants, which includes Michael Peca and Mike Vellucci.

In Rockford with the Blackhawks' AHL team, King underachieved despite having one of the best prospect pools in the NHL under his belt.

It will be interesting to see how King will handle such a rich group of players in Hershey, who have been dominating the American Hockey League over the past three seasons.