Blackhawks fire coach Luke Richardson: 'The results did not match our expectations'

Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune on Dec 5, 2024

Published in Hockey

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CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks have fired coach Luke Richardson after two-plus seasons, the team announced Thursday afternoon.

Richardson, 55, took over the Hawks before the 2022-23 season. His teams went 57-118-15. The Hawks this season are off to a 8-16-2 start — the worst record in the NHL.

“Today I made the difficult decision to move on from Luke as our head coach,” general manager Kyle Davidson said in a news release. “We thank him for his efforts and contributions to the organization and our community. As we have begun to take steps forward in our rebuilding process, we felt that the results did not match our expectations for a higher level of execution this season and ultimately came to the decision that a change was necessary. We wish Luke and his family all the best moving forward.”

Rockford IceHogs coach Anders Sorensen takes over as interim Hawks coach. Sorensen, 49, joined the organization as a development coach in 2013 until being named an IceHogs assistant beginning in 2018-19.

“I fully support Kyle’s decision in making this change as he continues to do what is needed to move our team forward,” Blackhawks Chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz said in the release. “I have the utmost confidence in him and the rest of our Hockey Operations team as they begin their search for the next head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.”