Colliton confirms contract details; happy with assistant coach situation
The Chicago Blackhawks have seemed hesitant to release the contract details of head coach Jeremy Colliton, but he said Tuesday that he's signed through the 2020-21 season.
Colliton, who was hired to coach the Rockford IceHogs last season, was OK with not naming any of his assistant coaches.
"In Rockford, I came in and none of those guys did I know before, and I think it worked out pretty well," Colliton said, referring to the team's run to the Western Conference Final.
Colliton's assistants are Barry Smith, Don Granato and goaltending coach Jimmy Waite. Granato and Waite are holdovers from Quenneville's staff, and Smith is someone Colliton got to know during his time with the IceHogs.
"It's fun to work with people you haven't been with before because they can bring different ideas to the table - make you better," Colliton said. "Maybe some of the ideas that you have, they can give an extra detail here and there. That makes you better and the staff, too."
General manager Stan Bowman said he has no problem with Colliton switching things up next season.
"Right now we're in the middle of the year (and) we had to hit the ground running with someone who was familiar with our players," Bowman said. "But as we go forward, absolutely Jeremy's going to have full control on what makes him the best coach."
You again:
Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and Arizona GM John Chayka have made four trades the past 17 months:
Niklas Hjalmarsson for Connor Murphy; Richard Panik for Anthony Duclair; Vinnie Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle and Marian Hossa for Marcus Kruger, three other players and a fifth-round pick; and Nick Schmaltz for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini.
Bowman said there's no rhyme or reason to why he keeps making deals with Chayka.
"Looking back on it, we did the deal last year for Panik and Duclair and that was sort of a one-for-one deal," he said. "And then the Hossa deal was sort of a cap space (move). There weren't many teams in the league that could absorb that.
"I think it's really circumstantial. I mean, I have a good relationship with John, but we don't have a history together. I met him the day he got the job. I didn't know him before that."
First-round exodus:
The Blackhawks no longer have any of their first-round picks from 2010-14. Gone are Mark McNeill (2010), Phillip Danault (2011), Teuvo Teravainen (2012), Ryan Hartman (2013) and Nick Schmaltz (2014).
Danault is a top-six center in Montreal, Teravainen put together a 23-goal, 41-assist last season in Carolina, and Hartman is on pace for 20 goals this season for Nashville. McNeill has appeared in just two NHL games and is currently playing for the AHL's Providence Bruins.
Slap shots:
The Blackhawks announced that defenseman Brandon Davidson underwent successful knee surgery Tuesday. He is expected to be out 6-8 weeks. … Forwards Andreas Martinsen and Chris Kunitz were healthy scratches against Vegas. Henri Jokiharju also was scratched due to illness.