Luke Richardson was hired as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.
Richardson replaces Derek King, who was 27-33-10 after replacing Jeremy Colliton on Nov. 7. The Blackhawks lost their first nine games (0-7-2), were 1-9-2 when Colliton was fired and finished 28-42-12, seventh in the Central Division.
"We have Stanley Cup Champions and future Hall of Famers on our team, and building a relationship with them to really lead the way and show the younger players to make those steps is going to be crucial," Richardson said Wednesday. "... If you can learn to play defense fast, whether you're a big strong guy or a small speedy guy, you have the puck more and more energy left in your body to play offense. That's what I think we need to do."
Richardson worked the past four seasons as an assistant for the Montreal Canadiens and coached the final four games of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinal against the Vegas Golden Knights, going 3-1 after coach Dominique Ducharme tested positive for COVID-19. The Canadiens won the best-of-7 series in six games before losing the Stanley Cup Final in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"When we started this search, we wanted someone who could lead with authority and who would hold players accountable," Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said. "In addition, we were looking for someone who could develop and coach young talent, also connecting with our veteran players. It became clear thrroughout our process that Luke exhibited these characteristics and more."
The 53-year-old began his coaching career when he was named an Ottawa Senators assistant in 2009, a role he held for three seasons before coaching the Senators' American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton for four seasons (2012-16). He was a New York Islanders assistant in 2017-18, prior to joining the Canadiens.
Richardson played 21 NHL seasons as a defenseman from 1987-2009 and had 201 points (35 goals, 166 assists) and 2,055 penalty minutes in 1,417 regular-season games for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Lightning and Senators. He had eight assists and 130 penalty minutes in 69 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"My philosophy is the game is a fast game now and a good example is watching the Final this year," Richardson said. "There's a lot of speed and skill but you watch how hard [the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning] played, and it's the leaders and older players who have been there before who are leading the way. Nate MacKinnon's finishing checks, well, that's the culture you want to build here."
The Blackhawks have finished sixth or worse in their division in each of the past five seasons and qualified for the playoffs once in that span. They have one playoff series win since their last Stanley Cup championship in 2015, defeating the Oilers in four games in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers in 2020.
"Once we got a little deeper into the how he sees the game and how he views players and his communication styles, it really resonated with us and it really felt like something that would work within the system that we're putting in place here," Davidson said. "That was the main aspect of what drew us to Luke. And then once we got into a room and had a formal interview, the nuts and bolts really fell into place. But like he referenced, going out and having a more casual conversation over dinner, you loosen up, you get out of that more formal environment and you learn a little bit more about the person. As we went through the process, he just checked all those boxes down the line."
Although King was not retained as coach, Davidson said the Blackhawks hope he remains in the organization.
"Derek was put into a pretty tough spot this year. The success on the ice just wasn't there," Davidson said. "... We thought he did excellent. He really helped calm things down and solidify things in the locker room. He was a serious candidate (for the coaching job). Derek is someone we really appreciate and really value. So I think there's going to be process moving forward where we do try to keep Derek in fold. We're looking to bring high character people into the organization and Derek is that. It's going to be a discussion as we head into the summer, but we're hopeful that something will be there for him."
Richardson is the sixth coach to be hired since the conclusion of the regular season. Lane Lambert was hired by the Islanders on May 16, Bruce Cassidy replaced Peter DeBoer as coach of the Golden Knights on June 17, John Tortorella was hired by the Flyers on June 17, DeBoer was hired by the Dallas Stars on June 21, and Paul Maurice was hired by the Florida Panthers on June 22.
The Jets, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings each are in the midst of a coaching search.
NHL.com independent correspondent Bruce Miles contributed to this report
