Luke Richardson has been relieved of his head coaching duties with the Chicago Blackhawks. Anders Sorensen will take over as interim HC.

The Chicago Blackhawks were expected to take a little bit of a step this season. So far, that has not happened. At 8-16-2, they have 18 standings points which is good for 32nd place in the NHL.

Their Wednesday night 4-2 loss for the Boston Bruins was the final straw as they decided to make a big change. GM Kyle Davidson announced that they have decided to part ways with head coach Luke Richardson.

Rockford IceHogs head coach Anders Sorensen is going to step in as the interim head coach. Assistant GM of Player Development Mark Eaton will take over as the head coach in Rockford for the rest of the season.

Sorensen is expected to finish this season with Chicago as a process is expected to take place to find a new permanent head coach. There are going to be plenty of options to consider during that time.

Richardson is not completely at fault as this roster is not competent enough. A lot of the free-agent signings haven’t done well and there isn’t much to work with.

The Hawks won the first pick in the lottery two years ago and the second pick last year. It isn’t like they are this underperforming juggernaut but as mentioned before, they were expected to take a big step. Sometimes, the head coach takes the blame. 

Now that Richardson is gone, the hope for Chicago will be that Sorensen can get Connor Bedard going for good. He isn’t in the slump he was earlier in the year but they need more from him. Sorensen has had the young players in Rockford going very strong so far this year.

Sorensen will make his debut as head coach on Saturday afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets at the United Center. 

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