The Chicago Blackhawks surprised everyone this morning by announcing that long time coach and three-time Stanley Cup winner Joel Quenneville was relieved of his coaching duties. In addition to Quenneville, assistant coaches Kevin Dineen and Ulf Samuelsson were let go.
Rockford Icehogs (now former) Head Coach Jeremy Colliton takes over the Blackhawks as their 38th head coach in franchise history. Colliton, who is just 33 years-old, becomes the youngest head coach in the NHL. He was hired by the Blackhawks to coach in Rockford two seasons ago, after four seasons as head coach of Mora IK, in Sweden (HockeyAllsvenskan).
According to the Blackhawks, Colliton could be bringing assistant coach Sheldon Brookbank to the Blackhawks with him. His assistant in Rockford, Derek King, will take over in Rockford as the Head Coach on an interm basis.
Also, joining Jeremy Colliton’s coaching staff is long time Scott Bowman friend and member of the Blackhawks Hockey Operations staff, Barry Smith. Smith as been a member of the Blackhawks organization for nine seasons, most recently serving as Director of Player Evaluation.
Joel Quenneville’s contract with the Blackhawks runs through the end of the 2019-20 season, so the organization will be paying him $6 million for the remainder of that time.
