Insider Suggests Blackhawks Should Have New Head Coach in Sights

This season for the Chicago Blackhawks hasn’t gone as expected. The team is last in the NHL after all of the signings and progression of the younger players were supposed to push them up the standings a bit.

The poor start and lack of goal scoring led to the firing of Luke Richardson, but interim head coach Anders Sorensen hasn’t exactly changed the direction of the Blackhawks since taking over. While it is tough to take over a team mid-season and usually there’s a new coach bump, that has worn off fairly quickly.

Amazingly, the Blackhawks have not been shutout this season despite a bad offensive season all around. Chicago scored four or more goals in a game six times in the first 26 games under Richardson, but has done so four times in 14 games under Sorensen. Some players, most importantly Connor Bedard, have picked up their game since Sorensen took over, but after winning four of the first seven games with their new head coach, the Blackhawks have lost six of the past seven.

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As Sorensen still has the interim tag on him and that will likely last until the end of the season, insider Elliotte Friedman suggests that the Blackhawks should be doing everything they can to convince David Carle to be the next head coach of the team.

Carle, as some might know, is the head coach at the University of Denver and has won two championships, but has also been the head coach of Team U.S.A. at the World Juniors, coaching the team to two consecutive golds.

Friedman notes that the Blackhawks are in a unique position where they can strike now and sign him and see him come in April after the season at Denver. Carle is a winner and “people love winners,” the insider said. He also said that we are “in an age where teams are really searching for coaches who can identify with and reach young players.”

Sorensen may have the experience from coaching the Rockford IceHogs, but Carle is a lot younger and has the pedigree of winning so much already. I also don’t think Sorensen is a bad coach, but Carle’s winning is undeniable.

Teams like the St. Louis Blues and New Jersey Devils checked in on Carle last summer, but I don’t think either of them will be in the market for a new coach now that Jim Montgomery and Sheldon Keefe are head coaches now. But there are going to be a lot of disappointed teams missing the playoffs or having lackluster finishes to their seasons, so Carle should be very sought after either way.

Carle really likes his situation in Denver and has a young family, so it will have to be worth his while, not only money-wise, but with a good situation/environment. Friedman spoke about how he doesn’t know how a team can’t make it worth Carle’s while to leave Denver and make the jump to the NHL after all of this winning.

While Carle has proven to be great with younger talent, a team like the Blackhawks have a number of older players as well. As a former player whose career got cut short before the NHL, he’ll have the respect in that regard by any current player. He has also been around the game all of his life. Friedman said, “the NHL players watch this tournament (World Juniors). They know who can coach. They know who can’t coach. They’re going to look at this guy and they’re going to say this guy can coach.”

The Blackhawks need to make it worth Carle’s while as the organization is filled with young and exciting talent and are ready to take the next step. Neither head coach this season has been able to move the needle and it is time for Chicago to find their guy, by any means.

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