Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson is in his third season after the worst start in the league
CHICAGO– The Chicago Blackhawks fired coach Luke Richardson on Thursday, signaling frustration with the state of the franchise’s rebuilding project.
Chicago lost four straight to fall to an NHL-worst 8-16-2 this season. He was outscored 41-27 while posting a 3-9-1 record in his last 13 games.
Anders Sorensen has been elevated to interim coach. Sorensen was coaching the team’s top minor league affiliate in Rockford.
“Today I made the difficult decision to leave Luke as head coach,” general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement. “We thank him for his efforts and contributions to the organization and our community. As we began to move forward with our rebuilding process, we felt that the results did not match our expectations for a higher level of execution this season and ultimately decided that a change was necessary.
Chicago expected to be more competitive in Richardson’s third season. He signed Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Alec Martinez and Craig Smith on a busy first day of free agency this summer. There was also Connor Bedard returning for his second season after winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.
But Bertuzzi and Teravainen struggled and Martinez was hampered by injuries. Bertuzzi has five goals and five assists in 26 games heading into Saturday’s game against Winnipeg. Teravainen has three goals and two assists in his last 21 games.
Of course, the most important player for Chicago is 19-year-old Bédard – and it’s his lack of production that likely led to Richardson’s firing.
Although the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft has shown positive signs of development, the young center has struggled offensively. Bédard ended a 12-game goal drought by scoring in a 6-2 win over Dallas on November 27. He has five goals and 14 assists in 26 games after collecting 11 goals and 10 assists at the same time last season.
“We’re definitely not happy with the record,” Richardson said after his final game. a 4-2 defeat in Boston Wednesday evening. “The guys are trying to work within the system and in the right way and unfortunately, as I said before, we don’t seem to have any sort of Achilles heel. There’s not a single problem with our team.
“It’s like one night there’s one zone – maybe our defense, our forward or one player – and the next night it’s another zone, like a different player.”
Although Chicago struggles with various issues, it is clear that the offense is its biggest problem. He’s averaging 2.42 goals per game, ranking him 31st in the NHL ahead of only Nashville heading into Thursday night’s games. The Blackhawks finished last season with 178 goals, the lowest total in the league.
Richardson, 55, was 57-118-15 in Chicago. The former NHL defenseman was an assistant on the Montreal coaching staff when he was hired by the Blackhawks. in June 2022. When Dominique Ducharme was diagnosed with COVID-19 during the 2021 playoffs, Richardson took over as coach for six games and helped the Canadiens reach their first Stanley Cup final since 1993.
The move comes as Chicago prepares to host the Winter Classic on Dec. 31 against the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field. Shortly before the announcement of the coaching change, the NHL published a rendering of what the rink at the Chicago Cubs stadium will look like.
Sorensen, 49, is a familiar face to many Blackhawks. He was initially hired by the organization as a development coach prior to the 2013–14 season. He is 117-89-16-7 in 229 career AHL games as head coach, all with Rockford.
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