By Scott Powers (The Athletic)
CHICAGO — General manager Kyle Davidson could have chosen a head coach who was a better fit to guide the Blackhawks to their tanking goal this season.
Davidson could have brought in someone who eventually got fed up with the roster’s inferior talent, became frustrated with the constant losing and allowed those negative feelings to seep into and overtake the dressing room. Davidson could have sat back and watched his team go up in flames as the season wore on.
If Davidson had done that, the Blackhawks could already have the league’s worst record sewed up. They’d still be at the mercy of the lottery balls, but they’d at least be guaranteed a top-three pick.
But Davidson didn’t hire the coach he believed would be the best to tank this season. He hired the coach he believed was best for the Blackhawks in the present and future. He hired Luke Richardson.
There’s little debate Davidson hired the right person. Richardson has been everything Davidson sought in a head coach and likely even more.
Richardson got more out of some of his most talented players, like Max Domi and Seth Jones, than their recent coaches, carved out bigger roles for role players and got borderline NHL players to play like everyday NHL players. Richardson stabilized the team’s defense by changing to a zone system. He got the Blackhawks to play faster. He got them to play harder. They played consistently no matter who was coming or going on the roster. He remained positive and encouraging regardless if the Blackhawks were on a winning streak or a long losing streak. He was the same person from start to finish. More importantly, he made the Blackhawks respectable from start to finish.
And nearly all of those traits were on display in the Blackhawks’ 4-2 loss to the Wild on Monday. Like a lot of games this season, Richardson and his team probably stressed Davidson out more than Davidson would have hoped for, especially when the other tanking teams are often leaving no doubt about their losses, and had him wondering why he hadn’t hired a worse coach when he had the chance. At this point, though, Davidson has probably come to terms with whatever place Richardson has the Blackhawks finish in.
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