CHICAGO – As the Blackhawks begin to rebuild their franchise on the ice, they have found a new leader to start that journey.
Per multiple reports, the first from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the Blackhawks will hire Montreal Canadiens assistant Luke Richardson as their next head coach. Per his report, contract details still have to be worked out, so the team has not officially announced the hire.
He will be the first permanent head coach for the Blackhawks since Jeremy Colliton was fired in November of 2021. Derek King, who was the head coach of the Rockford Ice Hogs, was installed as the interim head coach for the rest of the season and was a candidate for the permanent position.
Richardson has been an assistant in the NHL for eight years, spending the last four with the Canadiens from 2018-2022. He was also an assistant with the Senators for three seasons (2009-2012) and the New York Islanders for the 2017-2018 campaign.
In the American Hockey League, Richardson was the head coach of the Binghamton Senators for four seasons from 2012 through 2016. They were the affiliate for the Ottawa Senators, where he compiled a 153-120-31 record and qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs twice.
Richardson is no stranger to hockey fans having played in the league for 21 seasons as a defenseman for six different teams. He took the ice for 1,417 games, 34th all-time in league history, as he played six years with the Oilers, five years with the Flyers, 4 1/2 years with the Maple Leafs, 2 1/2 years with the Blue Jackets, two with the Senators and a year with the LIghtning.
The defenseman began his career with Toronto in the 1987-1988 season and finished it in Ottawa in the 2008-2009 campaign.
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