Veteran NHLers Perplexed by the Blackhawks' Firing of Luke Richardson
The Blackhawks had to make a move, and fired Head Coach Luke Richardson in late November, Riley Cote and Derek Settlemyre of Nasty Knuckles Pod disagreed with the move.
Richardson was fired by GM Kyle Davidson after a dismal 8-16-2 start to the 2024-2025 season. The team while still in a rebuild acquired pieces who Kyle Davidson thought to be players who'd improve the roster significantly. Yet Richardson and the team underperformed.
Fast forward to December, former Rockford IceHogs Head Coach Anders Sorensen was promoted to the NHL afterward.
Settlemyre, and Cote felt that it was an unfair move by Kyle Davidson, considering the team is still undergoing a rebuild.
They feel like the move was puzzling, considering a lot of the pieces Davidson signed were past their prime.
While Riley Cote would dance around the fact that many of the pieces were past their prime, I don't think he's wrong.
Considering that they have Seth Jones, and Nick Foligno post-2019 is an example of veterans who will never produce like they did in Columbus.
While Jason Dickinson has been a brightspot, along with Ryan Donato these players were never gamebreakers.
Let's not forget Tyler Bertuzzi, who has been cold the majority of the season who has 13 points( 8 G, 5 A) in 31 games.
His production has stagnated in Chicago, as last season he scored 43 points, (21 G, 22 A) and now is on pace for a staggering 34!
So maybe, Riley and Derek aren't wrong about the Blackhawks. Maybe some of the Hawks players need to be held accountable too, as they've failed to make their mark this season.
