Chicago Blackhawks hire Jeff Blashill as head coach, hoping for a turnaround

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks hired Jeff Blashill on Thursday, giving him a second chance to prove himself as a head coach in the NHL.

Blashill, a 51-year-old Michigan native, coached the Detroit Red Wings for seven seasons. He was let go after the team went 32-40-10 during the 2021-22 season.

While Blashill had an underwhelming stay with Detroit, finishing with a 204-261-72 record, he has a player development background that likely was appealing for the rebuilding Blackhawks. He has coached in the AHL and USHL, along with the college ranks.

Blashill, a former college goaltender for Ferris State, spent the last three seasons as an assistant to Jon Cooper with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“He’s thrived when in a position to develop young players and has shown he’s capable of blending that into overall team success, a vision and philosophy we share for where we are today and where we see our team in the future,” general manager Kyle Davidson said in a release. “We couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come under Jeff’s direction.”

The previous four coaches for Chicago — Anders Sorensen, Luke Richardson, Derek King and Jeremy Colliton — had never been a head coach in the NHL when they got the job with the Blackhawks.

Chicago went 25-46-11 this year, finishing last in the Central Division and No. 31 in the NHL for the second straight season.

Davidson fired Richardson in December, and Sorensen was promoted from the minors to serve as the team’s interim coach for the rest of the season.

Sorensen was a candidate for the full-time job, but he is expected to remain with the franchise in some capacity.

“We love Anders,” Davidson said at the team’s end-of-season media availability in April. “He’s been part of the organization for some time. He’s a great hockey mind, he’s a great person and those are the type of people we want in our organization.”

Blashill inherits a team with the makings of what looks like a good young nucleus, led by Connor Bedard. It has two first-round selections in each of the next two drafts, to go along with salary-cap flexibility for free agency.

Artyom Levshunov, Colton Dach, Sam Rinzel, Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene each made their NHL debut this year, ramping up hope for the future.

But the Blackhawks averaged just 2.73 goals this season and allowed 3.56 goals per game, 31st in the NHL behind only San Jose. The team has made just one postseason appearance since 2017, and that was the expanded playoff format after the 2020 season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blashill steps into his new job amid preparations for the franchise’s centennial 2025-26 season.

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