In the wake of free agency, the Athletic finally released its staff predictions for the NHL this week, and the Blackhawks were certainly well-represented. Commonly accepted as one of the most improved teams in the entire league, Chicago was listed as a potential surprise playoff team, which would be a huge boost from their finish as the second-worst squad in the league a season ago.
But another area that caught the eye of many Blackhawks fans was in the head coaching category. That’s because Chicago head coach Luke Richardson was listed as a candidate for both the Jack Adams (best head coach) and to be the first bench boss fired this season.
Since Richardson was named to his first head coaching gig in the summer of 2022, the Blackhawks have made every excuse in the book for him. He’s inexperienced and learning, the team is going through a rebuild, he faced low expectations… the list goes on. That isn’t to say any of those excuses are invalid – everyone knew Richardson’s job would be tough and take time.
Still, Richardson also owns a historically bad winning percentage – he’s led the Blackhawks to a record of 49-102-13 over two full seasons. This year, though, a terrible roster has been turned upside down. Eight free agent signings on July 1 represent a serious change in expectations in Chicago and a change for Richardson.
The winning percentage doesn’t exactly reflect the general consensus around Richardson’s success as a head coach thus far. The systems he’s implemented, like an aggressive zone defensive scheme, have received rave reviews from players and have seemed successful at times. Richardson has prioritized a hardworking, pesky playing style that can lend itself to timely turnovers and offensive chances.
Now, Richardson will get a chance to prove his systems work with an actually competent roster. Assuming the injury bug doesn’t hit the Blackhawks as hard as it did last season, he’ll have a bit more continuity once the team gels together. Even if he loses a few players to the injured list, the roster and pipeline are much deeper after the infusion of veteran free agents.
But with that chance to prove himself comes a risk of being exposed. As the article above might suggest, that risk can’t be ignored. What if the Blackhawks don’t improve this season? With what’s viewed as a fairly competent, NHL-worthy roster, all eyes will point to Richardson if they can’t find success. Either way, this season represents an important, make-or-break campaign for the coach, who suddenly finds himself on the hot seat.
