The Blackhawks Real Challenge Comes After Richardson’s Firing

On Dec. 5, the Chicago Blackhawks made a surprising move by deciding to part ways with head coach Luke Richardson. It was surprising in the sense that I didn’t think general manager Kyle Davidson would fire his first head coach in the middle of the season, but it is also unsurprising, considering the team sits in last place in the NHL. Richardson was hired in 2022, and the Blackhawks sent a message that expectations were not met.

To recap, Richardson’s tenure as Blackhawks head coach has been bumpy. He has had everything thrown his way, from the departure of franchise legends Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, to contract terminations, to injuries galore, to rosters that weren’t necessarily built to win (one got them Connor Bedard!), to now getting a roster that Davidson said he built to “get more wins.” Richardson shouldered a lot and didn’t have it easy, but management alluded to being done with excuses this season. It is a rebuilding team. They were not meant to win the Stanley Cup, but they hoped to, at minimum, get out of the NHL basement that they had been stuck in for over five seasons now.

Seth Jones said in September to Mario Tirabassi of CHGO that the expectation for this season was to win more hockey games and play in meaningful games. Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno made similar sentiments. In theory, the bar was set low because the Blackhawks had been in the bottom three of the standings the past two years, so it didn’t seem like they could get worse than that. Yet, somehow, they have. For reference, in 26 games last season, the Blackhawks had 19 points. In 26 games this season, they have 18 points. This comes with what was supposed to be better talent, with Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, and a healthy Taylor Hall in the top six.

What makes it worse is that last season, around this time, the team was floundering due to the injury bug. So, it’s tough to comprehend how a roster with better talent can be worse than a team missing a chunk of their roster.

There have been red flags all season. It seemed easy to write this team off only eight games in. They rarely played a full game, and they had consistently slow starts. Their starts did improve, but then they would implode. They gave up leads and multiple goals in minutes too many times to count. Those traits weren’t just bad habits; they were a pattern. It became expected of what you would see on the ice.

Teravainen told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that the team was losing confidence. Foligno said on Dec. 1,  “No team thinks they are out of it against us. We have to prove to them they’re out of it. It’s a hard thing to do.” These quotes stick out because those elements were supposed to be different; they should be building confidence and harder to play against, and both are lacking.

I agree with the sentiment that it is not all Richardson’s fault. A lot of the players, like Bertuzzi, Philipp Kurashev, Hall, Teravainen, and Bedard, are not having the seasons they envisioned, and that is on them to perform. However, the coach must get the most out of his players. Line combinations changed like the wind, and Ryan Donato is the team’s leading goal scorer (10), which shows something is very off. No one is exactly playing lights out this season, and it’s challenging to say one specific thing that could be causing that. But this roster should be better than they are, and they have shown it at times. They scored six goals against the Dallas Stars. They also beat top teams like the Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, and Minnesota Wild. Chicago is not a great team, but they are capable of more. Something had to give.

It seemed like the only solutions were to fire Richardson, call someone up from the Rockford IceHogs, or trade for someone to spark the roster. Basically, anything had to change. Davidson’s decision to fire Richardson shows that this is not okay anymore. Rebuilding can’t be their excuse to be stuck in mediocrity forever. Rebuilds do entail tough times, but they are also meant to show adjustments year after year. The Blackhawks have had some improvements this season, like on special teams, but overall, when it’s not reflected in the standings, it’s hard to defend.

Players always say that when a coach gets fired, it’s a wake-up call for the room. The players expected different, and now it shows management does too. There is the argument that the Blackhawks roster still is still flawed, and there is concern that the next coach (interim coach Anders Sorensen) might not get a lot out of this team, either, making this a possible hasty decision. But the team has to try. If nothing changes, then that is another conversation.

Overall, the Blackhawks have been stuck with bad losses and bad habits that go beyond just being in a rebuild. It doesn’t mean they should now be a contender, but it’s time to address where the issues are without Richardson at the helm.

Richardson seems like a really great human being. Despite all the chaos, he came to the Blackhawks with an eager and calming attitude. The players seemed to respect him, and I wish him the best. I wish it would have worked out, but I believe the correct decision was made.

Now, the real challenge is figuring out how to help the players and the team move forward. As Foligno recently noted, “That’s the tough-love [part], making sure we’re not OK with moral victories. I don’t want that to be creeping into our [minds]. That’s a losing atmosphere, and that’s something we need to change drastically here.”

Changes were made, and hopefully, the “losing atmosphere” mentality will improve. Now, the plan is crystal clear: it’s time for expectations to be raised, same as it was in April.

For more Blackhawks News from Jim Lynch and Brooke LoFurno, visit Chicago Hockey Now, subscribe to our YouTube and like our Facebook page.

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