Blackhawks make Jeff Blashill decision after humiliating 9-2 loss to Hurricanes
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The Chicago Blackhawks will not change coaches, keeping Jeff Blashill behind the bench through a 4-13-1 start and a 9-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Chicago Blackhawks are staying the course.
Jeff Blashill will remain head coach after a 4-13-1 start, with general manager Kyle Davidson choosing patience over a midseason shakeup.
The decision comes on the heels of a 9-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, a result that pushed the coaching conversation to a boil.
Chicago sits second from the bottom of the NHL standings, ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks, and has already placed goaltender Arvid Soderblom on waivers.
With no game until Thursday, the schedule handed Davidson a clean window to make a move.
Scott Powers reported that he will not take it.
Why Davidson Is Standing Firm
Blashill was hired in May 2025 as the 42nd head coach in franchise history, replacing interim coach Anders Sorensen after Luke Richardson was fired during the 2024-25 season.
The Blackhawks valued his player development background, a natural fit for a roster increasingly built through the draft.
Blashill is 33-52-15 in Chicago, and his previous stop in Detroit produced a 204-261-72 record, so the numbers will not quiet his critics.
Still, a coaching change would not fix everything.
Chicago allowed 3.56 goals per game last season, 31st in the league, and it is fair to argue that this year's defensive and goaltending trouble runs deeper than the bench.
Moving on from a coach about a year and a half into his tenure would also raise questions about the plan Davidson has been executing since 2021.
What Comes Next
The next test arrives Thursday at home against the Buffalo Sabres.
Another report indicated that Blashill is being retained for the time being and that Davidson is expected to address the situation Wednesday, which leaves room for his job security to come up again if results do not improve.
For now, the message from the front office is clear: the rebuild plan, and the coach attached to it, is not changing.
Whether that patience holds will depend on how quickly this team stops bleeding goals.
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