Chicago Blackhawks: Jeremy Colliton must prove himself next season

Even though the Chicago Blackhawks made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2020, head coach Jeremy Colliton has a lot to prove next season.

Don’t let the Chicago Blackhawks postseason appearance in 2020 fool you. The 2019-20 season wasn’t a success for the Hawks. And even if you believe it was since they made the playoffs, the Blackhawks only made the postseason because of the pandemic, as they were the 12th ranked team in the Western Conference.

Though it appears head coach Jeremy Colliton‘s job is safe for the time being, this could change very quickly. The Blackhawks have been awful defensively for the past two seasons. Last season, at 5v5, they allowed the 10th most goals against per hour, most scoring chances against per hour, and the most high-danger chances against per hour, per Natural Stat Trick.

Goaltending was able to mask part of their flaws and an offense led by Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews helped as well. But even then, the Blackhawks defensive flaws were glaring and their appropriate 12th seed in the Western Conference heading into the expanded postseason reflects that.

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Part of this is on the players. But part of the blame should fall on Colliton as well. He’s had a little less than two seasons to improve the Blackhawks and he hasn’t made any significant improvements.

Yes, the Blackhawks beat the Oilers. That should be seen as a positive for Colliton. But consider how badly the Blackhawks got beaten by the Vegas Golden Knights. The lone reason they weren’t swept is because Corey Crawford put on a career-defining performance in Game 4, as he utterly refused to let his team be swept.

To be fair to Colliton, he’s been dealt a pretty rough hand. He had to be the guy to replace Joel Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cups in the Windy City and turned the Chicago Blackhawks into a dynasty. When he arrived, they were an afterthought. But when he departed, the Blackhawks were back to being one of the most popular teams in the NHL.

Maybe Colliton will eventually develop into a good coach. As a Capitals fan, I remember thinking there was no way Bruce Cassidy would be a good coach with the Boston Bruins. But lo and behold, he’s done a pretty darn good job. The same could be said for Mike Sullivan, who spent a decade out of the NHL coaching ranks following a drama-filled tenure with the Boston Bruins.

Colliton is still pretty young too. He’s the only NHL coach who can say he’s coaching someone he’s younger than. Colliton is 35 years old and Duncan Keith is 36. He’s also only a few years older than Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

Ideally, Colliton should be an NHL assistant coach, where he can learn behind someone who’s more experienced. He needs to built up his strengths and improve his weaknesses.

Colliton needs to improve his hockey mind. He’s simply made too many inexcusable mistakes. How did Calvin de Haan average more ice time at 5v5 during the playoffs than Duncan Keith, who is the heart and soul of the team?

Jonathan Toews was a huge reason the Blackhawks made the expanded postseason. Yet he averaged less time per game in the playoffs than Kirby Dach. Dach was very good in the playoffs, but he shouldn’t be getting more time on the ice than Toews.

That said, Colliton shouldn’t be fired yet. He bought himself a bit of time thanks to the Blackhawks making the postseason. That was their goal and, though it took a pandemic and expanded postseason to accomplish it, they accomplished it. But if the Blackhawks are smart, all eyes will be on Colliton next season, as he must prove he’s the right coach for the team moving forward.