NHL Rumors: Blackhawks HC search ‘remains fluid,’ no decision has been made


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The Chicago Blackhawks have not yet made a decision on their head coaching job.

NHL insider Kevin Weekes reported that “the situation remains fluid” but no decision has been made at this time. Weekes previously reported that Chicago was “close to signing” Calgary Flames assistant coach Ryan Huska, and issued something of a correction with the follow-up:

kevin week @KevinWeekes

According to my last tweet, I have been in contact with people close to the HC process of @NHLBlackhawksas I was told “the situation is still fluid, working to hire new HC”. I will keep you cool @NHL Fans posted as we heard more. @espn @StanleyCup #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/I543T1782u

Charlie Roumeliotis NBC Sports Chicago reported that the indication that Huska was heading to the Blackhawks as of Monday was “inaccurate” as “a decision on a permanent head coach has not yet been made.”

The Blackhawks fired head coach Jeremy Colliton in November after a 1-9-2 start to the season and finished the 2021-22 campaign with Derek King in the interim job.

Chicago went 27-33-10 under King and missed the playoffs for the second straight season. He hasn’t won a postseason series since the 2014-15 campaign, which is a long way from the final stretch when the franchise won three Stanley Cup titles in a span of six years, from 2009-10 to 2014-15.

Colliton had been the head coach since taking over during the 2018-19 season after the Blackhawks fired Joel Quenneville.

Any coach the franchise hires will be joining a team with a lot of immediate uncertainty after a disappointing season. Chicago notably added defenseman Seth Jones and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury last offseason, but ended up trading the latter and didn’t live up to the highest expectations with the new pieces in place.

Decisions will need to be made at the goalkeeper position, as well as with a number of notable names, as the team decides which part of the rebuild to undertake.

Whether that means leaving Blackhawks legends Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews behind remains to be seen. Chicago could even look to trade forward Alex DeBrincat, which would only serve to facilitate an even bigger rebuild for a team that may still be several seasons away from being a true contender.

Huska has a lot of training experience as a four-year assistant for the Flames after being the head coach of the team’s Stockton and Adirondack affiliates.

He also has connections to the Blackhawks considering the organization drafted him in 1993, although he appeared in only one NHL game during the 1997-98 season.




Reference-bleacherreport.com

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