3 amazing head coach options for the Chicago Blackhawks

3. Barry Trotz

The Chicago Blackhawks could go for the biggest name available this offseason.

The Chicago Blackhawks know what it is like to have an elite coach. Joel Quenneville is one of the greatest hockey coaches who ever lived. One of the other ones from the same era is now available in Barry Trotz and the Hawks would be foolish not to at least ask about him.

He was randomly fired by the New York Islanders last week and it shocked the NHL world when it happened because he is a legendary coach. It certainly wasn’t his fault that they were bad this year. It was a product of a lot of bad luck and the fact that they played the first month of the season on the road while their building was being finished up.

When John Tavares left them in free agency a few years ago, it became a mess there. They had no identity and nothing to lean on outside of a few good young players. Trotz won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018 and then didn’t return there the following season.

For some reason, Washington wanted to move on from him and he went to New York and turned that place around. They made it to game seven of the conference finals in each of the last two years and it is all because of Trotz’s outstanding defensive systems.

He knows how to get stars to play defense while still being creative offensively and that is something Chicago needs badly. The only problem is that the Hawks might not have a good enough roster to take advantage of Trotz right away.

If he came to town, he would have to recognize that this is going to be a process. It is certainly an idea for Kyle Davidson to consider when looking at all of the available coaches. Trotz won’t be available for long so he might have to act fast if that’s his guy.

None of these guys are in rumors with the Hawks or anything like that. It would just simply be a good idea to consider all of them when the time comes to hire a new head coach. It is going to be interesting to see who they ultimately choose because it will send a message about their direction.