CHICAGO – A day after Kyle Davidson fired Luke Richardson – his first head coaching hire – the Chicago Blackhawks general manager said he made the decision because “some of the realistic expectations that we had coming into the year just were not met.”
Davidson appointed Rockford Ice Hogs coach Anders Sorensen as interim coach of the Hawks.
“Obviously a tough day yesterday,” Davidson said Friday. “I’d like to thank Luke Richardson for all of his effort and commitment to the organization and to the community, but unfortunately, some of the realistic expectations that we had coming into the year just were not met.
“I think our results fell a little bit short, so I felt a change needed to be made and a new voice was needed. I’m very confident Anders Sorensen will be a good source of a new voice, new ideas and someone who’s capable of extracting more from this group.”
Later in the day, Richardson issued a statement through the team.
“I am grateful to the Wirtz family and Kyle Davidson for giving me the opportunity to be the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. Being a part of an Original Six team and all the history it carries with it is a true privilege. I am proud to have worked alongside some truly great men and women in this organization.
“I would like to express my thanks to all of the players for their effort, their commitment, and their passion for the game. I am also grateful to the Blackhawk fans for how they welcomed my family and I to the city and the support they have for the team. I wish the team and their fans the best for the rest of the season.”
Sorensen ran his first practice Friday at Fifth Third Arena and explained afterward he had a “lack of sleep” after learning the Hawks would be in his hands.
“I mean, your head’s kind of spinning, right?” he said. “There are a lot of different directions going with everything, just trying to focus on, ‘OK, what are we trying to get tomorrow? What’s practice going to look like tomorrow? What’s the message going to be to the group?’ That was probably the biggest thing once everything settled down.”
During practice, he focused on improving pace and energy and getting players to “enjoy the competitive part of the game.”
In the locker room, players expressed a mix of sympathy for Richardson and optimism about Sorensen.
“You’re sad for the man and for the family,” Hawks captain Nick Foligno said of Richardson. “You take a little bit of ownership too when (they) fire a coach; it means you’re not in a position you want to be in.
“As a captain and somebody that cares a lot about that guy, it’s tough to see. But at the same time, I’ve been in this business long enough to know that’s the way it goes when you’re not playing at the potential you need to play at, and I think Luke understands that as well. That’s why they made the move.”
Connor Bedard had mixed emotions.
“You’re excited with Anders coming in, but I had a good relationship with Luke. He’s a really good guy and in the end, it’s someone losing their job.”
Bedard said he has talked about Sorensen with players he coached in the AHL, “so it’s great to have some guys who know what he likes. But it’s all been really positive stuff.”
When Richardson was hired in June 2022, he took over a team that was at the beginning of a rebuild. The Hawks finished 26-49-7 in his first season and 23-53-6 in his second.
Davidson shed some of the Hawks’ less talented players this offseason and loaded up with proven veterans in a bid to slowly move out of the rebuilding phase. But on the ice, Richardson failed to move the needle.
The Hawks started this season 8-16-2 – the worst record in the NHL – before Davidson pulled the plug on Richardson.
“I think we have taken some nice steps, but we’re in last place,” Davidson said. “So you have to recognize that.”
Richardson’s record with the Hawks was 57-118-15 (.339), one of the worst in franchise history.
“With a little better execution and ability to manage some of the games and the personnel in games, could we be a bit ahead? I think so,” Davidson said. “But we are where we are, so we’ll give Anders some run and we’ll see where we’re at the end of the year, take stock of what needs to happen.”
Sorensen joined the organization as a development coach for the Hawks and IceHogs in 2013-14 and was promoted to assistant coach for the IceHogs in 2018-19.
He was promoted to associate head coach before the start of the 2021-22 season, but when the Hawks fired Jeremy Colliton on Nov. 6, 2021, then-Ice Hogs head coach Derek King took over as interim coach while Sorensen did the same in Rockford.
This season was Sorensen’s fourth with the IceHogs (third as their full-time coach). He has a 117-89-16-7 record in 229 games and reached the AHL playoffs in all three seasons he ran the program.
“There’s no perfect solution when you’re looking at it and I think the work he’s done for us in Rockford is impressive and notable,” Davidson said of Sorensen.
“In one sense, yeah, you don’t want to mess with a good thing. But at the same time, just what we’ve seen from him and his ability to either communicate or his in-game adjustments and use of his bench and how he implements a message, is something I think could work here. So from that standpoint, you want to bring that influence into our group in the NHL.”
Mark Eaton, the Hawks assistant GM of player development, takes over as interim head coach in Rockford.
“The way I see Rockford and our development group is that we have a great infrastructure in place,” Davidson said. “Mark Eaton stepping in is someone who’s been around that group a ton. He knows all the players, the players all know him.
“He and Anders have worked hand in hand for a number of years now, so that’s a natural, seamless transition that should continue the really good work that’s going on there.”
