Chicago Blackhawks: Is Jeremy Colliton under pressure this season?

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 26: Head coach Jeremy Colliton of the Chicago Blackhawks looks on from the bench during the third period of the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on March 26, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Blackhawks 1-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 26: Head coach Jeremy Colliton of the Chicago Blackhawks looks on from the bench during the third period of the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on March 26, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Blackhawks 1-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The Chicago Blackhawks young head coach Jeremy Colliton is going into his first full year at the helm. What pressure will that put on him and the Blackhawks going forward?

After almost 10 years of Joel Quenneville, the Chicago Blackhawks finally closed their doors on him after a lackluster 2018 season and a tough start to the 2019 season. They welcomed in the Rockford Ice Hogs’ head coach, Jeremy Colliton to coach the team for the rest of the 2019 season. Jeremy Colliton has been well touted by many experts as the next great coach and was going to be the guy to take over for Joel Quenneville eventually, it just happened sooner than everyone thought.

Whenever a coach is hired mid-season, it’s always the question of “is he an interim coach or not.” With Jeremy Colliton turning around the Blackhawks last season and making a late playoff push, where the Blackhawks just missed the playoffs by 6-points, the ceiling is high for this years Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks brought back Andrew Shaw, brought in Olli Maatta, Calvin De Haan, Alexander Nylander, and finally filled up that backup goalie position by signing Robin Lehner. Another thing to note, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are coming off of their most successful statical season, with no signs of slowing down.

The pressure comes from having superstars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in their prime, and other key roles filled. This is the first Blackhawks’ roster in a while where they can put Kane and Toews on the same line and now have to worry about the other 3 lines because of the depth they have this season. There is still room for improvement on the 4th line. That will be fixed by moving players around throughout the year and finding which lines work and which ones don’t.

On defense, the Blackhawks have set up a situation where they have maybe “too much” depth, which is a great thing. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook have been slowing down the last couple years so the addition of Olli Maatta and Calvin De Haan will take some of the load off of their shoulders, which will help the defense improve.

The Blackhawks might have the best 1-2 punch in net if both goalies can stay healthy. Corey Crawford has had his injury problems over the last two seasons and the addition of Robin Lehner helps relieve stress off of Corey Crawford. They will most-likely be playing even time so both goalies will be getting rest, which gives them no excuses.

Jeremy Colliton has no excuses this season. If the team can remain healthy and the players buy into his system, the Blackhawks will be contenting for a playoff spot. The Blackhawks in reality should be a top 3 team in the Central Division if they get off to a fast start.

Next. Blackhawks: A third line potentially developing. dark

This season has a chance to be something special, so Coach Colliton, show the fans what you got and take the Blackhawks to the playoffs. Also, if they don’t make the playoffs, there could be a chance Stan Bowman puts Jeremy Colliton on the hot seat for wasting another year of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.