King of the Castle or Court Jester?

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James
May 15, 2022 (1:51)

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We're all familiar with the meme of the dog wearing a hat sitting at a kitchen table. The room is engulfed in flames, but the dog smiles and says, "This is fine."

Blackhawks interim coach Derek King might as well have been in the same situation when he moved from the Rockford Icehogs to the 1-9-2 Hawks back on November 6. Inherit a team with no general manager, weeks removed from the housecleaning that resulted from one of the NHL's biggest scandals in decades. Win over frustrated veterans, improve morale and right the ship despite being an interim coach with no job security beyond this season. Navigate an in-season rebuild and the trades of the starting goalie and second-leading goal-scorer. Keep the team fighting until the final day of a totally lost season. Not exactly an ideal situation for your first NHL coaching job.

Despite Chicago's woes, he did an admirable job (27-33-10) regaining some composure among his players and keeping the atmosphere light in the locker room, but that does not mean he'll be back next year as head coach or even an assistant coach.

Under King, we saw huge jumps from Dylan Strome (after being buried in Jeremy Colliton's system), as well as great improvements from players like Alec Regula, Alex Vlasic, Sam Lafferty and Riley Stillman. None of which was surprising given King's experience with younger players in Rockford.

However, he's too honest about his players which isn't necessarily a good quality in a head coach.

From an analysts' perspective, he's correct. The team isn't good enough, and there's no debating that. However, he's not one of the talking heads breaking the game down for viewers at home, he's the coach. It's his job to get the players motivated game after game, devise strategies to maximize the team's strengths and try and get the best out of his players. Telling the world they aren't good enough isn't head coach material, even if he's right.

I think King will return to Rockford to help develop the young talent or possibly stay in Chicago as an assistant coach, but his days as a head coach are over. He was dealt a bad hand and did what he could with it, but a fresh, outside face is needed.

Hiring someone from the outside could be an important step for the Blackhawks as they embark on a new era. A fresh voice could offer players, fans, and even management new ideas, especially if they are able to connect well with young players and have experience working in a rebuild.