Luke Richardson Building a Winning Culture with Chicago 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.

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.