Richardson hired as Blackhawks coach to replace King

Richardson replaces Derek King, who was 27-33-10 after replacing Jeremy Colliton on Nov. 7. The Blackhawks lost their first nine games (0-7-2), were 1-9-2 when Colliton was fired and finished 28-42-12, seventh in the Central Division.

“I am honored to be trusted with this opportunity to coach an Original Six franchise like the Chicago Blackhawks,” Richardson said. “I look forward to working with (general manager) Kyle [Davidson], Jeff Greenberg, Norm Maciver and the rest of the Hockey Operations group in addition to having the guidance of (owners and executives) 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.”

Richardson spent the past four seasons as an assistant for the Montreal Canadiens and coached the final four games of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinal against the Vegas Golden Knights, going 3-1 after coach Dominique Ducharme tested positive for COVID-19. The Canadiens won the best-of-7 series in six games before losing the Stanley Cup Final in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I want to wish Luke all the best in his next professional chapter in Chicago,” Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said. “Luke was wholeheartedly committed to helping our group achieve success, and he played a significant role in recent years. We thank him for his work and dedication.”

The 53-year-old began his coaching career when he was named an Ottawa Senators assistant in 2009, a role which he held for three seasons before coaching the Senators’ American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton for four seasons (2012-16). He was a New York Islanders assistant in 2017-18, prior to joining the Canadiens.

“We are excited having a seasoned coach like Luke join the organization as head coach,” Davidson said. “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.”

A retired defenseman, Richardson played 21 NHL seasons from 1987-2009 and had 201 points (35 goals, 166 assists) and 2,055 penalty minutes in 1,417 regular-season games for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Lightning and Senators. He had eight assists and 130 penalty minutes in 69 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

The Blackhawks have finished sixth or worse in their division in each of the past five seasons, having qualified for the playoffs once in that span. They have one playoff series win since their last Stanley Cup championship in 2015, defeating the Oilers in four games in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers in 2020.

“I plan to create an environment of trust with our team,” Richardson said. “With trust, relationships will form and grow, thus allowing everyone to blossom and execute their role. My philosophy is to be better today than we were yesterday and, to achieve that, we will need commitment and consistency.”

Richardson is the sixth coach to be hired since the conclusion of the regular season. Lane Lambert was hired by the Islanders on May 16, Bruce Cassidy replaced Peter DeBoer as coach of the Golden Knights on June 17, John Tortorella was hired by the Flyers on June 17, DeBoer was hired by the Dallas Stars on June 21, and Paul Maurice was hired by the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

The Jets, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings each are in the midst of a coaching search.