Yawney out, Savard in as Hawks' head coach

This story originally published Tuesday, Nov, 28 2006.

For the last few weeks, Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon wrestled privately with the idea of replacing Trent Yawney as head coach.

Yawney insisted last week he was on the same page as Tallon, but it was clear they were not. Tallon's decision Monday to fire Yawney and replace him with assistant coach Denis Savard proved it.

Call it a difference of philosophies. Yawney's cautious, defensive-minded approach was in direct contrast to the up-tempo offensive game Tallon wants to play, even if it could be argued that injuries to Martin Havlat and Michal Handzus forced Yawney to be more conservative to the point he had the Hawks playing the neutral zone trap.

"I'm not dwelling on the past here," Tallon said. "I'm looking more forward to trying to get more creative offensively. I think we can score more."

While it's certainly not Yawney's fault Havlat got hurt seven games into the season and Handzus in the eighth game, it sounded Monday as if Tallon was holding Yawney responsible for not getting more out of other players.

"We haven't scored any goals," Tallon said. "We've scored 16 goals in the last 13 games, so with any offense at all we'd probably be closer to .500 than we are.

"It's a combination of everything. Once the injuries occurred, we changed our style and wanted to play those close-to-the-vest type games, and I don't think with the new rules you can play that way."

Yawney, who was informed of his dismissal when he arrived in Bensenville for practice Monday morning, declined to comment until today.

"He was very surprised," Tallon said. "It was an agonizing decision, but one we feel is necessary."

Savard was Tallon's first choice to replace Yawney. Tallon said if Savard had passed, he would have promoted Norfolk's Mike Haviland.

The Hawks are 7-12-2 and near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They are last in the NHL in goals scored with 49 and have just 41 in the last 20 games after scoring 8 on opening night in Nashville.

Most Hawks sidestepped the issue of being restricted offensively in Yawney's system.

"We try to play within the structure that our coach tells us, and apparently that wasn't working," center Bryan Smolinski said. "Management thought that we weren't going in the right direction and they made the change.

"Anytime you lose that many players to injuries so fast in the manner in which we did - we were discombobulated out there. We weren't scoring, so things have to change. Maybe Trent was put under some circumstances beyond his control when you lose that many good players, but you have to find ways to win. It's adaptability, and we weren't able to adapt to the sudden change."

Savard, who is only guaranteed the job through the end of the season, promised a change in the offensive philosophy, starting with a more aggressive forecheck.

"We're going to create a lot more offensively, I believe, with the system we're going to use," Savard said.

It became evident on the five-game western road trip that there were problems between Yawney and Tallon.

Tallon was unhappy with the minimal number of minutes forwards Tony Salmelainen, Jeff Hamilton and Denis Arkhipov were getting - players Tallon signed as free agents because he believed they could contribute offensively.

Tallon even told the Daily Herald on Nov. 14 that he thought Salmelainen could be "utilized better" and that the winger needed more ice time with better players.

Yawney gave Salmelainen 12 minutes and Hamilton 15 minutes of ice time Nov. 19 at Vancouver, then after the 2-1 loss to the Canucks in which they combined for 2 shots, said in an obvious shot at Tallon: "Hopefully everybody's happy they got their ice time."

"Sometimes you say things in the heat of the battle that you regret the next day," Tallon said.

Team captain Adrian Aucoin admitted that problems between Yawney and Tallon were starting to be felt in the dressing room.

"I think there was a little bit of turmoil going on," Aucoin said. "It seemed they weren't on the same page. It's just a vibe."

Tallon denied a rift had developed between him and Yawney.

"There hasn't been any tension," Tallon said. "It was just an overall change in attitude as far as the direction we want to go.