(670 The Score) The Blackhawks on Monday officially hired Luke Richardson as the 40th head coach in franchise history.
Richardson, 53, was a Montreal Canadiens assistant coach for the past four seasons.
“We are excited having a seasoned coach like Luke join the organization as head coach,” general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement. “Luke shares our vision and goals for the future, and he will have an opportunity to build an environment and culture of high performance, hard work and high accountability. Throughout the interview process, it became evident that he not only had every quality we were looking for in a head coach but also is a high-character individual that was perfect to lead this next era of the Chicago Blackhawks.”
Richardson had a 21-year year NHL playing career as a defenseman. Prior to serving as a Canadiens assistant, he worked for the Islanders and Senators in an assistant coaching capacity. He also has four years of head coaching experience in the AHL.
“I am honored to be trusted with this opportunity to coach an Original Six franchise like the Chicago Blackhawks,” Richardson said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Kyle, Jeff Greenberg, Norm Maciver and the rest of the hockey operations group in addition to having the guidance of Rocky Wirtz, Danny Wirtz and Jamie Faulkner. Together, we will work to direct the team on a journey that we believe will achieve success. Clear communication, a plan, hard work and execution will lead us to that success.”
The Blackhawks will introduce Richardson at a press conference Wednesday.
The Blackhawks are coming off an ugly season in which they amassed 68 points, the sixth-fewest in the NHL. Chicago fired coach Jeremy Colliton in early November and appointed Derek King as the interim coach.
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