Jeff Blashill; I like his first name. Who? Admittedly, I don’t follow hockey as closely as I follow football, basketball, and baseball. I think I can hold my own, a tier above your average fan, but nowhere near a subject matter expert. I like to follow my team, the Chicago Blackhawks, more than anything. When the announcement came down that Jeff Blashill was named the Chicago Blackhawks new head coach, I didn’t blink. Hey, this isn’t a big name guy, somebody I’ve heard of before. This isn’t a guy with well-known success in the position, with multiple rings on his fingers, whose name is on the Stanley Cup. This isn’t an ex-player, who was great on the ice, can relate to the players because he played professionally. Who the heck is Jeff Blashill? OK, let me do a little homework.
He’s 51 years old. He was born in Detroit; won’t hold that against him. He was the previous coach of the Detroit Red Wings; will try not to hold that against him. He has played hockey, actually was a goaltender; OK, that’s cool. Is hockey kind of like baseball, where many of the good managers are ex-catchers… are many of the good coaches ex-goalies? I can’t answer that one, and I’m not adding to my homework. He has had some coaching success… in college, the USHL, and the AHL; that’s nice, but what about the NHL? He coached the Red Wings for 7 seasons; that’s kind of crazy that I never heard of him. The team made the playoffs once, losing in the first round. His record: 204-261-72; that’s not impressive. However, I have read that he was hired on the ground floor of the rebuild in Detroit, so these results were somewhat expected. Thing is, you didn’t really see improvement over the years, under his watch. Thing is, Detroit is still waiting to get back to the postseason, with the one win under Blashill back in 2016 being their last playoff victory; was the problem more than just the coach? OK, the Detroit stuff ended a few years ago; what’s he been up to since then? He’s been an assistant down in Tampa Bay. The fact that he got another job right away reflects well, I think. 3 years with the Lightning, waiting for his next shot to be the man, and BAM! The Blackhawks gave him the chance. For our sake, I hope it was the right move.
The Blackhawks aren’t at the ground level of a rebuild, but we’re not that far ahead. We’re certainly at a point where a “jump” is expected; we’ve been patient. We’ve got the top draft picks, including the golden boy Bedard, including the #4 pick in this year’s draft. We’re ready for the playoffs; maybe that’s a big jump from where we’ve been, but… if not now, when? No pressure Jeff, but here’s where we’re at. Hopefully you’ve learned from all your past experiences; hopefully you’ve been playing this moment out in your head for the last few years, that moment where you’ll get another chance. Look, I’m going to give everybody the benefit of the doubt, including the new head honcho of the Hawks; this “benefit” will be a year or two… clock starts now. If we’re not seeing playoffs in the next 2 years, well, whether or not it’s all on the coach, he’ll be part of the blame, and then… How about we DO see the playoffs in the next 2 years and the Hawks are finally back in the mix? That sounds a lot better. Welcome to Chicago coach; good luck and Go Hawks!
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