Blackhawks' new HC Jeff Blashill makes his feelings known on replacing Anders Sorensen

The Chicago Blackhawks introduced Jeff Blashill as their 42nd coach on Tuesday. He started his press conference by thanking the Blackhawks leadership team - comprising Danny Wirtz, Jaime Faulkner and Kyle Davidson - for giving him the chance to lead the team.

"Just want to start by thanking Danny Wirtz, Jaime Faulkner, Kyle Davidson and his management group for this great, great opportunity," Blashill said.

Blashill also thanked the Tampa Bay Lightning organization, where he was an assistant coach for three years. He gave his appreciation to Jeff Vinik, Julien BriseBois and John Cooper for allowing him to take on this new job.

The new Blackhawks coach said his latest assignment was the right fit for him.

"As I said, for me, this was a great opportunity, and every single coaching job in the NHL is a great job," Blashill said. "But for me, this job, at this moment, with this team, was the exact job that I wanted, and for a multitude of reasons."

Before Tampa, Jeff Blashill coached the Detroit Red Wings for seven seasons with a 204-261-72 record. Detroit made the playoffs in their first season but missed in the next six.

Blackhawks GM shares a mutual vision with Jeff Blashill

General Manager Kyle Davidson said Jeff Blashill brings strong experience. Davidson noted that Blashill has worked well with young players. He said that fits the Chicago Blackhawks’s plan for the future.

"Jeff is an incredibly smart and talented coach who boasts more than 25 years of coaching experience across developmental leagues, the NHL and the world stage," Davidson said, via NHL.com.

"He's thrived when in a position to develop young players ... capable of blending that into overall team success, a vision and philosophy we share for where we are today and where we see our team in the future."

Blashill takes over for Anders Sorensen - who was the interim coach for 56 games last season - after Luke Richardson was fired in December. Under Sorensen, the team went 17-30-9. The Blackhawks finished last season 25-46-11 and missed the playoffs again, the second season for forward Connor Bedard.

Jeff Blashill now leads a young Blackhawks team in need of growth and consistency. The team hopes his experience helps the rebuild stay on track.

About the author

Ankit is an NHL journalist at Sportskeeda with over 3 years of experience in the writing industry. He has expertise in sports, product, and travel content writing. His interest in ice hockey was piqued after watching Sidney Crosby play and he has been passionately following the game since then. Ankit admires Crosby’s personality and hockey IQ, and when he crossed the 1,500 points tally, Ankit was among the biggest fans to celebrate the occasion.

An Edmonton Oilers fan because of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Ankit also admires the Pittsburgh Penguins due to Crosby and the Colorado Avalanche for Nathan MacKinnon. He is also a fan of Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr.

Holding a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Language, Ankit believes his education has helped him develop a knack for presenting information in a precise and compelling manner. He only sources information from credible avenues and trusted people from his network for his articles.

When he is not watching or writing about the NHL, Ankit loves listening to music and reading books.

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Edited by William Paul

Blackhawks' new HC Jeff Blashill makes his feelings known on replacing Anders Sorensen - "The exact job that I wanted"

Blackhawks GM shares a mutual vision with Jeff Blashill