Blackhawks fire coach Jeremy Colliton after rough start
Enough was enough.
The Blackhawks, after an abysmal effort in Winnipeg dropped them to 1-9-2 on the season, fired head coach Jeremy Colliton and assistants Tomas Mitell and Sheldon Brookbank on Saturday afternoon.
Derek King, who has been head coach in Rockford since April 2019, takes over as interim head coach. Marc Crawford, Jimmy Waite, Matt Meacham and Dylan Crawford remain on the staff in their current positions.
Colliton, who did not respond to a text message, was fired exactly three years after replacing Joel Quenneville began the 2018-19 season with a 6-6-3 record.
"Our on-ice goal remains the same: to build an elite system of hockey - and we have not delivered on that," said interim GM Kyle Davidson, who recently replaced Stan Bowman. "The fact is our play and competitiveness must improve. Every game, every shift.
"Today's coaching changes are difficult, especially given the incredible personal connections Jeremy and others have made with our players in their development. We appreciate Jeremy's contributions to the organization over the last three seasons, and we wish him and his family the best."
This was supposed to be a season of redemption for the Hawks after Bowman theoretically loaded the roster with all kinds of high-end talent.
Instead, it's been a complete disaster.
After getting off to the worst start in franchise history by losing nine straight, the Hawks beat Ottawa 5-1 last Monday. Momentum seemed to be building, but Colliton's squad blew a 3-1 lead to Carolina on Wednesday then were thoroughly outclassed, outplayed and out-hustled in an ugly 5-1 loss to the Jets on Friday.
"We just weren't at their level," Colliton said afterward.
Which has been the case almost all season.
How much of this should lay out Colliton's shoulders is debatable, although the additions of Seth Jones, Marc-Andre Fleury, Tyler Johnson and Jake McCabe were supposed to make the Hawks playoff contenders.
Instead, Fleury's struggled badly and owns the worst goals-against average in the league at 4.11. Jones has played decently but doesn't look like a $9.5 million defenseman. Johnson's been injured and was just OK when he was playing. McCabe, who has been a key part of the penalty kill, has nonetheless struggled in 5-on-5 play.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Toews has yet to score, tying his longest goal drought to open a season, and Patrick Kane missed four games while in COVID protocol.
The overall team play looks disjointed, passes aren't connecting, opponents are constantly getting behind the defensemen and the Hawks simply aren't scoring enough. (They have the second-worst goal differential in the league at minus-21, ahead of only Arizona).
Colliton's defensive system has been criticized since he was hired, but he also seemed to struggle making in-game adjustments and putting together consistent, cohesive line combinations.
He did get an awful lot out of some mediocre teams in his first three seasons, but for things just did not click this year.
Colliton, who had one year remaining on his contract, finishes with an 87-92-26 record, good for a .488 winning percentage. He won four playoff games in 2019-20, but only because the NHL expanded the postseason field to 24 teams.
The 54-year-old King has been the head coach in Rockford since April 25, 2019. He was an assistant on the IceHogs' staff from 2016-18. Before that, he was with the AHL's Toronto Marlies as an assistant and associate coach from 2009-15.
As a player, King had 211 goals and 288 assists in 638 games from 1986-2000. He notched 30 goals in three straight seasons for the Islanders from 1991-94.
"We appreciate Derek's willingness to step in behind the bench as we embark on our search for our next permanent head coach," Davidson said. "His NHL experience as a player and work with our younger players in Rockford over the last four years gives us great confidence in his ability to lead the Chicago Blackhawks in this interim role."
King and Davidson will speak with media Sunday morning.
By the numbers
Jeremy Colliton's coaching record with Blackhawks:
Season W-L-T Finish
2018-19 30-28-9 6th
2019-20 32-30-8 7th
2020-21 24-25-7 6th
2021-22 1-9-2 7th
Totals 87-92-26
<b>Most wins in franchise history:</b> 1. Billy Reay 516
2. Joel Quenneville 452
3. Bob Pulford 185
4. Rudy Pilous 162
5. Mike Keenan 153
6. Darryl Sutter 110
7. Craig Hartsburg 104
7. Paul Thompson 104
9. Orval Tessier 99
10. Brian Sutter 91
11. Jeremy Colliton 87
12. Denis Savard 65