Luke Richardson Building a Winning Culture with Chicago Blackhawks
Last year, Chicago Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson began jettisoning players who would not be part of the rebuild-to-be over the next few years. Players aged out, young players were under developed and over exposed, management made rash trades and coaches were unqualified. That is to say, the championship window was officially closed.
With likely future stars Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli dangling as the ultimate prizes in next year’s draft, fans jumped on the bandwagon of the proverbial “tank.” The Blackhawks were to battle Arizona, San Jose, or maybe even Montreal for the dubious prize as the worst team in the NHL. With that comes an advantage in the draft lottery, which could ultimately lead to Bedard.
The Chicago Blackhawks have started the season with a 4-2 record, good for third in the Central with a game in hand. Should they win the next game against Edmonton, they would be in sole place of first. This certainly is not the tank that fans were expecting. In fact, social media is alive with comments complaining that the Blackhawks can’t even tank properly. Fans are angry after each win.
So, what exactly is going on? Are the Chicago Blackhawks blowing their chance at the best player to come along since Conner McDavid, or are they doing something more important, building a new culture? The answer is actually both. Winning will undoubtedly take the Hawks out of the running, but winning, or competing at a high level, could have bigger dividends.
For the Blackhawks, tanking is a risky business.
First of all, being the worst team in the league doesn’t ensure that a team will actually get the first pick. Since 1995, only 11 teams have been the worst and received the first pick- 40%. Look at Buffalo in 2015 for tank results. They were the worst team and ready to invite Conner McDavid into the fold, right? Wrong. While they were the worst team, they lost the lottery to Edmonton and ultimately drafted Jack Eichel. They have not made the playoffs since.
Tanking also brings with it a lot of losing. Like winning, losing can become contagious. And, it can become a team’s culture. While not tanking over the past few years, the Blackhawks began slipping into this losing culture. There was no confidence in management and there was certainly no confidence in coaching. And it was clear that the draft had not been kind to the Blackhawks.
A winning culture is the key for the Blackhawks.
Enter Luke Richardson. In one offseason and six games into his first season, Richardson has the hearts and minds of his players. It started in practice.
Luke Richardson is leading the group in post-practice conditioning drills. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/cFyBWG0Xi6
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) September 23, 2022
Richardson leads by example. His work ethic inspires the team. The evidence isn’t in the wins early in the season. It’s the way they won and the way they play. Until Tuesday’s game with Florida, they had played from behind. They played harder and scrappier with less talent this year than last and pulled out wins. The penalty kill which starts with fundamentals is mostly successful due to effort and grit. The Blackhawks’ penalty kill is flat-out SHUTDOWN thus far.
After the Seattle Kraken game, Tyler Johnson said on NBCSports Chicago, “I think it’s the feeling in the locker room. I mean, I guess you guys weren’t really around the locker room too much last year, but it’s a lot more fun this year. Guys have smiles on their faces. They want to come to the rink every day and compete and work, and it’s been huge. It’s a little bit of everything.”
His thoughts on previous seasons were not in isolation. Duncan Keith had publicly addressed his displeasure with the previous coach’s system. It was difficult and required too much thinking instead of instinctively playing. Captain Jonathan Toews had also voiced his displeasure. Simply put, players hadn’t bought in and it showed on the ice.
So far this year, under Richardson, the players have bought in. The system is simple allowing the players to play without overthinking. He holds them accountable for their play and rewards those who play hard. Example- during the game against Detroit last week, Sam Lafferty, Jason Dickinson and Jack Johnson started overtime for the Hawks rather than Kane, Toews and Jones. Lafferty’s work ethic is gaining him great favor with coaches and fans. (and yes, Lafferty partly got the start to counter Dylan Larkin. More smart coaching from Richardson.)
Of course we all know that this level of success is not likely to endure for an entire season. Lack of talent and the grind of an 82 game season will likely catch up at some point. Maybe the Blackhawks play themselves out of that top pick. I’m fine with that as long as Luke Richardson continues to develop players and build a winning culture built on grit and competing.
It’s likely that Toews and Kane, or at least one of them, will be gone later this season. And with them goes leadership and experience. If young kids are to come in and find success, the system and culture must be in place or the Blackhawks could find themselves in a perpetual state of rebuild. Draft picks are risky- sometimes they yield a superstar and sometimes they are a bust. And, sometimes a draft pick is a slam dunk and it still doesn’t mean success for his team, i.e. Conner McDavid or Auston Matthews.
I would rather bank on a winning culture with players willing to run through a wall for their coach. Plus, while it may not be the top pick, due to some shrewd maneuvering from Davidson, the Blackhawks are in a position to add a lot of talent over the next few years. With proper development, the Blackhawks should have a competitive team under Luke Richardson for years to come.