The Blackhawks‘ hiring of Jeff Blashill didn’t inspire fans, but Blashill himself might be able to.
In his introductory news conference Tuesday at the United Center, the team’s new coach demonstrated an exceptional ability to motivate and create a sense of optimism and purpose with his words.
“For me, this job — at this moment, with this team — was the exact job that I wanted,” said Blashill, 51.
“The scouts here have done an excellent job. We have a number of great young players in the system, and also young players that are going to be with us to start the season in Chicago and knocking on the door in Rockford. We have an opportunity to have depth at every position and, honestly, potential superstars at every position. That’s very unique in this league. My job now is to help mold them, teach them, coach them and lead them to becoming great winners.”
When detailing his previous experience — he enjoyed tremendous success as an USHL, NCAA and AHL coach from 2008 to 2015 before spending seven years as the Red Wings’ boss and the last three as a Lightning assistant — he made a convincing case that he’s about to reach the pinnacle of his career.
“On Day One of training camp, I can stand in front of our group and know exactly what it’s going to take for us to get to the top — not guess, not hope, but know,” Blashill added.
“I don’t want to sound like it’s going to be easy, because it’s not. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to take more sacrifice and more work than most people are willing to give. But for those who are willing to give it, I think the reward is going to be great.”
Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson was clearly wooed by that pitch in recent weeks — at least since losing out on top choice David Carle.
Davidson called Blashill a “no-brainer” hire Tuesday, describing him as “uniquely positioned and qualified to grab the reins of a group brimming in potential and to start molding that…into winners in the NHL.”
Captain Nick Foligno said he’s heard from contacts around the league that everyone who has played for Blashill “really likes him.” Foligno, who will meet with Blashill on Wednesday, praised his new coach’s ability to relate to a variety of types of players.
What Blashill brings
It will take considerable time to find out if Blashill really is the right person to lead the Hawks’ post-rebuild resurrection. But the work begins immediately.
Blashill cited the example of Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, whom Blashill overlapped with for a year in Detroit. Campbell stuck to his approach even after going 3-13-1 in his first NFL season and has been handsomely rewarded for it, with the Lions now coming off a 15-2 season.
Blashill’s personality isn’t quite as eclectic and exuberant as Campbell’s, but he’s an equally big proponent of accountability. One particularly Campbell-like sentence from his comments Tuesday: “Once you get culture in place, the winning takes care of itself.”
Lightning coach Jon Cooper has more directly influenced Blashill, considering they spent the last three years together and were friends long before that. Blashill mentioned Cooper’s ability to connect deeply with his players as one key thing he observed.
Tactically, Blashill believes his philosophies align well with the Hawks’ emphasis on drafting elite skaters. Davidson has set up speed to be the foundation of the team’s long-term identity, and Blashill is happy to lean into that.
“We want to make sure, when we don’t have the puck, we’re a pressure team,” Blashill said. “We want to take away other teams’ time and space. You can do that a number of ways: through gapping, squeezing and using defensemen to take the puck out of the opponent’s hands as quickly as possible in our end…[or by] making sure we’re aggressive on the forecheck and making it feel like the other team has to earn every inch of ice.
“When you have the puck, [we want to] make sure we’re predictable to each other. By being predictable to each other, we can play faster. As you play faster, now your talent comes through.”
Blashill said he’ll design a defensive-zone breakout system to take advantage of the Hawks’ plethora of mobile, puck-moving defensemen. Hearing that was a relief to some people who had worried he would apply the same system he used with the Wings, which didn’t give defensemen much freedom to carry the puck.
He acknowledged he didn’t do a perfect job with the Wings, who plunged into a rebuild after his first year there.
He didn’t have much talent to work with, and that prompted him to “over-search for answers,” changing things too much sometimes instead of calmly sticking with the process. He said he’ll “work like crazy to avoid those pitfalls” this time around.
Overseeing Connor Bedard’s development will be one critical responsibility, since the Hawks may end up going only as far as Bedard takes them. Blashill referenced his prior work with Lightning stars Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point and former Wings stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.
“They all have their unique strengths, [so] working toward Connor’s strengths will be important,” he said. “When you watch him with the puck on his stick, his ability to shoot pucks and create plays and make passes is really elite. There’s zero doubt about that.”
Two things it sounds like Blashill will tell Bedard to work on: creating more separation and space for himself in the offensive zone, and nailing down “winning habits” like stopping on pucks and keeping his shifts short.
Fleshing out staff
Former interim coach Anders Sorensen will transition to an assistant coach, Blashill said, while goalie coach Jimmy Waite will remain in his current role. Blashill and Sorensen are actually longtime friends.
“[Anders] has relationships with a number of guys, which is important because it keeps some continuity on the staff,” Blashill said. “I think he’s very smart and very calm, and I’ve learned a lot from him over the years.”
Michael Peca, who spent the last two years as a Rangers assistant, will join Blashill’s staff, likely working primarily with forwards. A third assistant — likely working primarily with defensemen — will be hired soon. Former assistants Kevin Dean, Derek King and Derek Plante won’t return.
Foligno sounded excited about the addition of Peca, a two-time Selke Trophy winner with the Sabres in 1997 and Islanders in 2002.
“He was revered for the way he played the game,” Foligno said. “That’s a great coach to have, especially if he’s willing to instill those little things into our group. He can be huge for bridging the gap of the skill and talent…and how you put that into winning.”