Blackhawks Announce Timeframe for New Head Coaching Hire
Blackhawks' GM Kyle Davidson made headlines this week after his end-of-season press conference. Facing questions regarding Kane/Toews' future, the direction that the front office is taking, as well as addressing a rather large remaining question mark: Who will be replacing Derek King as head coach of the Blackhawks?
In his presser, Davidson was asked about coaching in depth. Will Derek King supersede his interim title? Who else in the league is a potential match? When will a decision be made? With ample questions asked, Davidson announced that the organization plans to have a permanent head coach named by "mid-July". He remarked how beloved King is to the organization and younger players, and emphasized a sense of loyalty to the inexperienced interim coach.
Only months ago, Derek King was catapulted from Rockford, Chicago's AHL affiliate, to an interim head coaching position for the Blackhawks after they [finally] parted ways with Jeremy Colliton. Quite frankly, Rocky Wirtz could have stepped behind the bench and coached a more complete game than Colliton�but that's now irrelevant so I digress. Regardless, after the tumultuous nightmare of recent allegations had seemingly destroyed any confidence the players had, King was able to initiate a spark within the locker room and build back slowly from an embarrassing start to the 2021-22 season.
Although veterans and young guns responded positively to this change, after a few months it seemed to stagnate�King had lost control of the room. If you evaluate his quotes from last months losing streak (including losses against SEA, ARI, and BUF), it becomes clear that the spark is gone. That said, it's safe to say that Derek King is NOT the influence needed going into a full-blown rebuild.
This is not meant to be a hit piece�King is a spectacular coach and mentor in the minors and has a knack for developing young prospects to the point of getting a chance in the NHL. He is very honest and open with media, his players, and shows immense emotional stability�which is a mark of a great head man. In a perfect world, the Blackhawks will hire a seasoned coach with a rebuild-friendly focus; meanwhile Davidson absolutely SHOULD keep King around, just as the head coach of the Icehogs.
The only glaring issue regarding Davidson's timeline is the "mid-July" part. In my opinion, the sooner the better. The 2022 NHL Draft is July 7-8, and it makes organizational sense to have your coach determined prior to drafting players. This goes hand-in-hand with how important it is to have a functional working relationship between coach, GM, players, and front office. If I were Davidson, I'd like to draft players most inclined to succeed under his new head coach, and King just isn't the man for the job. Hire a coach in June to allow enough time to strategize with the new guy.
While we're here (last point, I promise), I truly believe David Quinn would be a phenomenal hire for the Blackhawks. He may have been replaced by the New York Rangers by Gerard Gallant, but his coaching performance and development at the NHL level led to a three-year rebuild for the Rangers�a much shorter timeline than I expect for the 'Hawks on their current trajectory. At least now we have a somewhat solid timeline for a new voice behind the bench, I just hope that 1. It isn't King, and 2. It's a seasoned coach, not someone in their first NHL year.
| POLL | ||
Who do you want to see as the next head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks? | ||
| Derek King (KEEP HIM) | 70 | 10 % |
| Joel Quinneville | 421 | 60.1 % |
| David Quinn | 91 | 13 % |
| Rick Tocchet | 118 | 16.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
