The Chicago Blackhawks began the season with a record of 8-16-2 and on Thursday, they relieved head coach Luke Richardson of his position. This decision was somewhat unexpected, given that the Blackhawks weren’t seen as a strong contender for a Stanley Cup Playoff spot this year.
The team promoted Anders Sorensen from their AHL affiliate in Rockford, and GM Kyle Davidson is optimistic that Sorensen can maximize the potential of the Blackhawks’ roster. So, what went wrong for Richardson?
It has been a challenging year for the Blackhawks. Earlier in the season, Richardson made headlines for opting to healthy scratch veteran forward Taylor Hall, who managed just five goals and 10 points in 25 games. It was clear that Richardson was trying to innovate to inspire players not meeting expectations.
In a recent episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli welcomed Charlie Roumeliotis from WGN Radio 720 to discuss Richardson’s shortcomings.
Yaremchuk: Excited to have Charlie Roumeliotis from WGN Radio in Chicago with us. Charlie, thanks for joining. Let’s dive into the situation with Luke Richardson. When he was hired, it seemed like the plan was to bring in a young coach who could grow with the team and help them through the rebuild. Where did things start to falter?
Roumeliotis: This is a tough situation, and I struggle with the Blackhawks’ decision. If you recall, Kyle Davidson’s exit interviews from last year mentioned that they had been at the bottom of the standings for three years. Coming into this season, expectations were somewhat higher.
From one perspective, the Blackhawks are dead last in the NHL after 26 games. However, in nearly all of those games, they were either leading, trailing by one, or tied in the third period, showing they had been competitive. This is where I find it hard to critique Luke Richardson.
The Blackhawks have been producing a behind-the-scenes series called ‘Every Shift’ for the past three years. In the debut episode of this season, the coaches and management discussed the opening night roster and expressed concerns about scoring. Associate GM Norm Maciver questioned where the goals would come from, highlighting the need for a significant increase in offensive output to improve.
Given this pre-season context, it seems that Richardson’s struggles largely stem from the team’s struggle to find that additional goal, which has hindered their ability to earn more points this season.
For more details about the coaching change for the Blackhawks, as well as updates on Jacob Trouba and other NHL news, check out the full episode below.
