After a pair of failed hires and a couple of interims in between, the Chicago Blackhawks believe they have finally gotten it right with new head coach Jeff Blashill.
Blashill was introduced at the United Center on Tuesday.
Blashill, 51, spent the past three seasons as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Before that, he spent seven seasons as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings from 2015 to 2022.
Blashill called the head coaching position with the Blackhawks the exact job he wanted, and said he is excited to work with the Blackhawks young core that includes Connor Bedard.
“Working towards Connor’s strengths, I think, will be important, and then just part of the process of any young player that I’ve ever coached — helping them become the great winning-type players that you have to be in order to compete like the four teams that are left right now,” Blashill said.
Of course, it is not just about developing the young players — but also about getting the team to win more games.
“The best way to increase the ceiling of your team is for those individuals to get better — and that’s not just the young players,” Blashill said. “You know, that’s asking to make sure he continues to improve his game.”
“I’m excited. I think that’s what, you know, I think you look for is to try to blend the two, right?” said Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno. “There’s no us versus them. It’s trying to make this work with the group that we have, and I think I’m extremely excited about the guys that we have — especially at the end of the season.”
Blashill confirmed that interim head coach Anders Sörensen will be staying as part of his coaching staff. Nick Foligno said he thrilled, as Sörensen can be someone to lean on when it comes to learning about the guys on this Blackhawks team.
