Jeff Blashill is the Blackhawks’ new head coach

Blashill has NHL coaching experience.

He piloted the Red Wings for seven years (2015-2022) and spent the last three seasons alongside Jon Cooper in Tampa as an assistant.

So this is an interesting (?) hire for a club looking to turn a corner in its rebuild.

Will Blashill be able to take the team to the next level? That remains to be seen…

What was important for the Hawks?

Finding a coach who could work easily with Connor Bedard to take him to the next level.

The club’s young star has “disappointed” some people this season with his 67 points (23 goals) in 82 games, because the expectations placed on him are enormous.

There was talk of him being the next McDavid, after all. It’s only natural that some still expect more from him…

I can’t wait to see how things go for Blashill with a young team, because in Detroit, he never really had much success with his club. He made the playoffs in his first year as head coach and then missed them six years in a row…

With the hiring of Blashill, there are only three NHL clubs without a head coach at the moment. The Bruins, the Kraken and the Penguins.

Perhaps the Islanders will be added to that group in the next few days, with the new managers that will be hired… #PatrickRoy

Extension

Anders Sorensen will remain with the team as an assistant after finishing last season as interim head coach.

Michael Peca also joins the Hawks as an assistant.