As soon as the Stanley Cup Finals are complete, most of the attention will be all about NFL odds for most sports fans. Most of the biggest hockey news is currently focused on the final series of the year, but the Chicago Blackhawks are in the news for a different reason.
According to sources, it appears that the Blackhawks have found a new hockey coach in their attempt to get back on top of the NHL. Chicago was once a team that routinely in the Stanley Cup Finals, but that just hasn’t been the case in more than five years.
Luke Richardson, Montreal Canadiens assistant, is expected to be hired by the Chicago Blackhawks in a move that will be announced at the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. If this deal does become official then Richardson will replace Derek King who served as an interim coach this season.
Chicago fired head coach Jeremy Colliton just 12 games into the 2021-22 season after he got off to a miserable start. The Blackhawks never intended to keep King on full-time, but he did help to turn things around in Chicago.
This would be the first head coaching job for Richardson, but he has put together a long and impressive career on the bench in the NHL. Richardson has spent the past four seasons with the Canadiens as an assistant, and he also had a 21-year playing career in the league.
Contract details are still being worked out between Richardson and the Blackhawks, but the deal could be announced as early as next week. Richardson will be taking over a team that is going through a long rebuild and has some interesting decisions to make over the next few weeks.
The hiring of a new coach is not the only big piece of news that has come out of Chicago over the last two weeks, and some of the news dates back to a massive story that broke earlier in the 2021-22 season.
Coach “Q” Might Not Be Reinstated
Head coach Joel Quenneville was a legend with the Chicago Blackhawks, but he was also included in the sexual assault case from a year ago. Quenneville resigned as head coach of the Florida Panthers because of his role in that, and it’s unclear if he will ever be able to coach again.
Coach “Q” led the team to three Stanley Cup titles during his time in Chicago, and was on the verge of leading the Florida Panthers to a title as well. Commissioner Gary Bettman had a role in Coach Q leaving the league, and it will be up to him to reinstate him.
At the time of the resignation from Coach Q, Bettman announced that it was determined that he no longer had a place in the league. An official suspension was not announced by the league, but Coach Q is not able to land another job unless he is allowed back in the league by the commissioner.
Hunter Gets a Promotion
The Blackhawks have had some serious work to do in restructuring the front office and they have made an interesting move. Meghan Hunter has been promoted to the assistant general manager position, becoming just the fourth woman in NHL history to have that title.
Hunter has been with the Blackhawks since the 2016 season and has made a steady climb up through the organization. She has spent some time as a scout and was also an assistant to the director of hockey administration.
General manager Brandon Davidson has replaced nearly all of the employees that were around during the dynasty years in Chicago, and he has been known to hire some women. Not only has Hunter been impressive in her roles as working with the Blackhawks, but she was also a terrific player as a collegiate athlete.
Karilyn Pilch is another woman that has received a promotion with the Blackhawks as she will be the new director of player personnel. Pilch is just in her second year with the Blackhawks after joining the team a season ago.
