The Chicago Blackhawks are in the midst of their major rebuild and fans are getting understandably impatient. That said, they are going to need to reach down and find some patience in their souls. You cannot hope or wish the timeline away. An organization that was so barren depth-wise takes several years to replenish. Unfortunately, with impatience comes misconceptions, and Blackhawks fans are certainly no different. There are a bunch of misconceptions floating around social media that need to be discussed. So, I feel like we should take some time this season to straighten out some misinformation and misconceptions. This week’s subject?
“Luke Richardson (and/or Kyle Davidson) should be on the hot seat.”
From day one, Luke Richardson had a tall task ahead. His job was to bring along the kids until they were ready to compete at the NHL level. He was brought in to keep a young, losing team from imploding. He knew this, Kyle Davidson knew this, but apparently, a large section of the fan base missed this detail. Now, a quarter of the way through his third season as Blackhawks head coach, the fans are starting to revolt. This is based on one major sports fan flaw: Impatience.
The Blackhawks are in this position because of the egos of their former team president, John McDonough, and their former general manager, Stan Bowman — neither of whom are here to answer for their mistakes. They felt that they were smarter than everyone else and thought they could rebuild around a quickly crumbling core that was declining fast. They were wrong. Someone in that front office needed to have a “come to Jesus” moment in the 2017–18 time period and start building for the future. They did not, and five more years of fans’ time was wasted.
None of this is Davidson’s or Richardson’s fault. They are simply trying to clean up an epic mess that was left behind and get the Blackhawks pointed in the right direction.
The first season of Richardson’s reign should not even be counted. It reeks of Jared Bednar’s first season in Colorado. Patrick Roy quit on the team and left the organization in a shambles. Bednar was never going to be successful that season. It was a lost cause.
The same could be said for Richardson. The Blackhawks were tanking for Bedard, and Richardson was marched out to be positive and teach the players the ways of the league.
Year two was to introduce the kids, including Bedard, to the grind of an NHL season. Due to the NHL/CHL transfer agreement restrictions, players like Kevin Korchinski, who was too good for the WHL but not ready for the NHL, could not go to the AHL or ECHL. Hence, he was forced to either go back and “bum slay” in juniors or get crushed nightly in the NHL, which is exactly what happened. Richardson was forced to put on a brave face and feed his kids to the lions. The result was predictable, which was another bottom-three finish, this time 31st out of 32 teams. This landed Davidson another high pick, which he used on polarizing Belarusian defenseman Artyom Levshunov.
Thankfully, Korchinski was old enough this season to send to the AHL and that is where he is playing. He is at a level where he can compete against professionals but not the best professionals in the world. The same can be said for players like Levshunov, Ethan Del Mastro, Gavin Hayes, Paul Ludwinski, Frank Nazar, Sam Savoie and Landon Slaggert. None of them have shown they are ready for the NHL yet, WHICH IS FINE. Not every player can go immediately from college or juniors to the NHL; in fact, most should not and do not, which is seemingly another fact many Blackhawks fans cannot comprehend.
Again, though, still not Richardson’s fault. Davidson brought a bunch of veterans in this summer to fill the roster specifically so the youngsters could all play and grow together in the AHL without the pressure and spotlight of the NHL every night. That said, the roster is now full of functional depth players and over-the-hill guys with experience. They were never going to be “good.” No one should have proclaimed otherwise.
They should be “better” than they were in the last two seasons. “Better,” however, is a relative term. “Better” also does not include making the playoffs, and it never did.
The #Blackhawks would have to improve FORTY points, minimum. Technically 46 in the Western Conf. Their point % would have to increase .281. The 7th best NHL improvement EVER. Just to squeak in
Be realistic. Not with a bunch of nice depth players and leftovers. https://t.co/c6iFKfJMDu
— Puckin Hostile (@PuckinHostile.bsky.social) (@PuckinHostile) August 22, 2024
Have the Blackhawks disappointed in their first 15 games? Certainly. But expecting much more than where they currently stand is, frankly, irrational. Anyone looking at the numbers could not reasonably predict a 45-plus point turnaround by adding the likes of Tyler Bertuzzi, Alec Martinez, TJ Brodie, Ilya Mikheyev, Pat Maroon, Craig Smith and Laurent Brossoit. Every one of those players is the definition of depth. And that does not even address the fact that it takes time for new players to gel with a new organization, city, teammates and system, which is again another fact many Blackhawks fans cannot comprehend. News flash: The real world does not work like NHL25; it does not all come together overnight simply because you want it to or think it should.
It is all fine and well to call for Richardson’s head, but to do that, you have to be able to answer question, “Who else can give you better production with this cast of misfit characters?”
The answer is, probably no one.