Jeff Blashill expresses confidence in Blackhawks’ young core despite past struggles

CHICAGO (WGN) — For the first time since firing Joel Quenneville in 2018, the Chicago Blackhawks have hired a head coach with previous NHL experience in the same role.

Jeff Blashill joins the Blackhawks after a stint as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning following seven seasons where he unsuccessfully tried to lead the Detroit Red Wings out of a rebuild.

For his second chance coaching an original six franchise, the 51-year-old Blashill said he feels better prepared to avoid the pitfalls he encountered while at the head of the Red Wings from 2015-22.

“For me, this job at this moment with this team was the exact one I wanted,” Blashill said Tuesday. “Sometimes you just have to stay calm, believe in the process and stay the course. Going through those times allows me to stay calm and stay focused on the process in the face of adversity … as you try to go from being a team that’s near the bottom, to being a team that’s near the top.”

Chicago General Manager Kyle Davidson told those assembled at the United Center Tuesday that Blashill’s hire “felt like a no-brainer to tap into his experience and to tap into what he’s lived and been through in the NHL as a head coach.”

“Getting into the room and learning how he’s going to approach this job, I think that time in Detroit as an NHL head coach certainly set him up for approaching this a different way and learning from that first tenure,” Davidson said.

Blashill spent a portion of his press conference raving about the young core of talent Chicago has at the NHL and developmental levels.

That starts with Connor Bedard, whose sophomore numbers declined from his rookie of the year season in 2023.

“How can he separate himself with the puck to create a little bit more space because when you have space in the offensive zone, he’s excellent as of where we stand here today,” Blashill said. “All those little ways, whether it’s with your brain, whether it’s getting a little bit quicker, those types of things are in place to help him create that type of separation and guide him to that winning-type hockey player that we need him to be.”

Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno and alternate captain Connor Murphy attended Tuesday’s press conference. They’re two integral players ready to win now who Blashill will have to balance with the development of young players on his roster.

“I’ve always felt they go hand in hand,” Blashill said of developing youth versus best optimizing his veterans. “The best way to increase the ceiling is for every player to get better, not just young players.”

Blashill led Detroit to a 41-30 record and 93 points during his first season at the helm of the Red Wings in 2015-16, which culminated in a third-place finish in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic division and a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Lightning, four games to one.

It was Detroit’s lone playoff appearance under his head coaching stewardship.

He went 163-231 over his next six seasons as head coach for the Red Wings, never finishing higher than fifth in the Atlantic.