Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson: 'I don't believe this is a last-place group'
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson is trying to be realistic with his expectations.But he said it explicitly Friday: "I don’t believe this is a last-place group."The fact the 8-16-2 Hawks currently sit in that bottom spot in the NHL standings prompted Davidson to fire coach Luke Richardson on Thursday. He described the decision as difficult from a personal standpoint — he choked up at the end of his press conference after calling Richardson a "special person" — but necessary in his view from an on-ice standpoint."We were close in a lot of games, which is a step forward from last year," Davidson said. "But at times, some of the reasons why we fell short in those games were habitual things that I think can be cleaned up through feedback and through some different instruction, practice between games, that kind of thing. Some of the reasons games went sideways on us I think were likely fixable."Just over a month ago, Davidson told the Sun-Times that he "actually like the way we’re playing," but the Hawks' underlying metrics fell off precipitously right after that interview and their losses continued to pile up. He hoped wins over the Panthers and Stars a couple weeks ago would ignite a turnaround, but when four consecutive regulation losses followed, he acted swiftly."When I came to the conclusion that I wanted to make a change, you make it," he said. "I don't think [that] once you cross that threshold in your own mind, you can go back."This move has invited some scrutiny on himself, too. Interim coach Anders Sorensen will be the fourth coach to work underneath Davidson; if he hires someone else after the season to take over the job permanently, that person will be the fifth. And while Davidson has succeeded with his first priority as GM so far — amassing a large, talented pool of prospects — many fans are impatient with the total lack of progress at the NHL level so far.One question worth asking: What specific things does Davidson believe can be cleaned up?"It’s just the basic execution," he said. "Why are we icing the puck at tough times? What’s the cause? Let’s peel that back. Turnovers in bad spots on the ice — let’s peel that back and understand why. How do we fix that?"Defensively, we’ve been pretty solid. We’ve cleaned up a lot of the mistakes that we saw last year. [We're] pretty decent on the other end. But in transitioning the puck, possessing the puck and creating offense, that’s been tough."Another question worth asking: Does Davidson have any individual regrets not bringing in more or different players last summer, or better setting the team up to succeed in another way?"You're always evaluating and assessing what you could've done better," he said. "I don't know if we're at that point right now where we've got enough information. Again, I think we have taken some nice steps, but we're in last place. So you have to recognize that."This story will be updated.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson is trying to be realistic with his expectations.
But he said it explicitly Friday: "I don’t believe this is a last-place group."
The fact the 8-16-2 Hawks currently sit in that bottom spot in the NHL standings prompted Davidson to fire coach Luke Richardson on Thursday. He described the decision as difficult from a personal standpoint — he choked up at the end of his press conference after calling Richardson a "special person" — but necessary in his view from an on-ice standpoint.
"We were close in a lot of games, which is a step forward from last year," Davidson said. "But at times, some of the reasons why we fell short in those games were habitual things that I think can be cleaned up through feedback and through some different instruction, practice between games, that kind of thing. Some of the reasons games went sideways on us I think were likely fixable."
Just over a month ago, Davidson told the Sun-Times that he "actually like the way we’re playing," but the Hawks' underlying metrics fell off precipitously right after that interview and their losses continued to pile up. He hoped wins over the Panthers and Stars a couple weeks ago would ignite a turnaround, but when four consecutive regulation losses followed, he acted swiftly.
"When I came to the conclusion that I wanted to make a change, you make it," he said. "I don't think [that] once you cross that threshold in your own mind, you can go back."
This move has invited some scrutiny on himself, too. Interim coach Anders Sorensen will be the fourth coach to work underneath Davidson; if he hires someone else after the season to take over the job permanently, that person will be the fifth. And while Davidson has succeeded with his first priority as GM so far — amassing a large, talented pool of prospects — many fans are impatient with the total lack of progress at the NHL level so far.
One question worth asking: What specific things does Davidson believe can be cleaned up?
"It’s just the basic execution," he said. "Why are we icing the puck at tough times? What’s the cause? Let’s peel that back. Turnovers in bad spots on the ice — let’s peel that back and understand why. How do we fix that?
"Defensively, we’ve been pretty solid. We’ve cleaned up a lot of the mistakes that we saw last year. [We're] pretty decent on the other end. But in transitioning the puck, possessing the puck and creating offense, that’s been tough."
Another question worth asking: Does Davidson have any individual regrets not bringing in more or different players last summer, or better setting the team up to succeed in another way?
"You're always evaluating and assessing what you could've done better," he said. "I don't know if we're at that point right now where we've got enough information. Again, I think we have taken some nice steps, but we're in last place. So you have to recognize that."
This story will be updated.
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