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New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Why Anders Sörensen chose to stay with the Blackhawks after Jeff Blashill took his job
After he was told he wouldn't be the Chicago Blackhawks' next head coach, Anders Sörensen could have gone elsewhere. Sörensen's resume — 56 games as the Blackhawks' interim coach this season, three-plus seasons as an AHL head coach, an appearance at the World Championship as an assistant coach for Sweden this year — could have landed him another job in the NHL, AHL or Sweden. Advertisement Sörensen didn't pursue anything else, though. Disappointed he wasn't hired as the Blackhawks' permanent head coach, Sörensen still saw an exciting opportunity when he was offered a position as an assistant on new Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill's staff. 'I believe in working with a group that pulls on the same rope, so to speak; I think that's an important part for me,' Sörensen told The Athletic on Monday. 'It's probably more important than having a title at times. As long as you're part of a group that everybody has a voice and everybody is included — someone obviously has to make the final decisions, but I think including people is a big part of it. I think Jeff seems to be doing that really well. That's why I'm excited.' Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson broke the news to Sörensen that Blashill had been hired while Sörensen was in Europe at the World Championship. 'It was honest and direct, and that's all you can ask for,' Sörensen said of Davidson's communication. 'Obviously they made their decision there. For me, you obviously going in hoping for something. … But once Kyle told me that Jeff was the guy, obviously some disappointment first, but then obviously excitement when I heard who it was. What he stands for is something I really believe in. It made the decision a lot easier.' Sörensen and Blashill have crossed paths throughout their careers. That began when Blashill was an assistant at Miami (Ohio) and Sörensen was with the Chicago Mission, an AAA program. Sörensen especially got to know him at an annual Notre Dame coaching clinic. 'We always met up in summers at those things,' Sörensen said. 'I always held him in very high regards as a coach and a person. Got to know through there, and he was a guy I always stayed in touch with throughout the years and picked his brain on different things. It always seemed like I came out of conversations with Jeff, whether it was over beers or just in the coaches setting, I always came away with something. I was like, 'Oh, yeah, I like that,' or he made me think. He made me think about different things. That's something I really value.' Advertisement Blashill being the Blackhawks' pick helped Sörensen's decision. He and Blashill talked for a long time, too, before Sörensen accepted the position, but ultimately, Sörensen's decision came down to what he thinks of Davidson's rebuild plan and what he's observed with the Rockford IceHogs and the Blackhawks. 'You know, I had a really strong belief in this group of players that we had, that we acquired obviously a lot through the draft,' Sörensen said. 'These young players, I've seen them throughout the year in Rockford and Chicago, I really believed in this group of players. This made my decision to stay on board obviously a lot easier as well. I want to help see this through. You see other teams in the league that have gone through this, if it's Edmonton, where they were eight, nine years ago, or Colorado before their runs there. I think those things, just excitement seeing this group through.' The end of the Blackhawks' season confirmed that for him, too. 'I think especially the last 10-some games here, these young guys, how their game took a stride,' Sörensen said. 'Frankie (Nazar) and even (Connor Bedard's) last six, seven, eight games, how he handled everything throughout the year and finished was super positive. You see some of those young defensemen. You see how they handled playing in this league, with that young of a group, was really impressive. Obviously, small sample, and I'm sure we're going to hit our speed bumps throughout the season here, but to see the potential in that group was really exciting.' Sörensen would rather be the head coach, but he did point out some positive benefits of being an assistant. He can work in different ways with Nazar, Bedard and others. 'I think, obviously, when you're an assistant, your role is a little different, but I think it's an opportunity to work even closer with some of those guys one-on-one,' Sörensen said. 'When you're the head coach, there's a lot of responsibility that goes into that. So, maybe it's a little bit of time for just hockey when you're an assistant, and something I've always enjoyed. I think the way we are and some of the other teams in the league right now, we do have to develop these young guys in the NHL. It's not always an easy task, but I think it's something I think we're all up for.' Advertisement Sörensen will return, too, with the lessons he learned from coaching Sweden's national team. He was in charge of Sweden's power play and forwards. 'I think the one thing that keeps standing out, it's the players' game,' Sörensen said. 'First of all, elite players are super smart, and they know a lot. A lot of times, they want honest and direct feedback. That's something you learn throughout the season, especially in the NHL, but even here at the World Championship. I think that's something I learned, just the importance of the relationships with the players and the people around the staff as well. 'I think I'm a much better coach today than I was a year ago, for sure. The growth probably got accelerated because of the opportunities in the NHL and obviously at the World Championship here.'
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Blackhawks hire Jeff Blashill as head coach: Why he's getting another shot
CHICAGO — Jeff Blashill was never given the chance to see a rebuild through with the Detroit Red Wings. The Chicago Blackhawks now present Blashill a second chance at doing just that. Blashill, 51, has been hired as the Blackhawks' head coach, a league source said, making him the 42nd head coach in franchise history. He replaces Anders Sörensen, whom the Blackhawks promoted to interim head coach after firing Luke Richardson early last season. Sörensen was considered to be among the Blackhawks' candidates for the permanent opening. The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Jeff Blashill as head coach, as had been speculated over the past week. Announcement today. — Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 22, 2025 Blashill wasn't the Blackhawks' first choice — they took a run at David Carle and inquired about Mike Sullivan, as nearly every team with a coaching opening did — but Chicago doesn't feel like it's settling in any way. Blashill checked every box that Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson sought in his head coach. Advertisement The Blackhawks like Blashill's development background. He coached in the USHL, NCAA and AHL before settling into the NHL. He was once the hot name in college coaching, as Carle is today. Blashill left Western Michigan University in 2011 at 38 years old to give the NHL a shot. He spent one season as an assistant to Mike Babcock with the Red Wings, then spent three years as the head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit's AHL affiliate. The Blackhawks also like that Blashill has NHL head coaching experience. Since Chicago fired Joel Quenneville in 2018, the franchise hired four consecutive first-time NHL head coaches (Jeremy Colliton, Derek King, Richardson and Sörensen). Blashill's first NHL head coaching job came when he replaced Babcock in Detroit before the 2015-16 season. His tenure began with a veteran Red Wings team, and he made a playoff appearance in his first season as coach. From there, the Red Wings were dismantled, and Blashill and the organization endured the early stages of a rebuild over the rest of his tenure. He was not retained after the 2021-22 season and finished with 204-261-72 overall record. After his first season, the Red Wings never finished better than fifth in their division. The Red Wings have since hired two other coaches and have yet to make the playoffs again. Blashil wasn't out of work long after the Red Wings. He joined the Tampa Bay Lightning and head coach Jon Cooper's staff the following season. Cooper, the league's longest-tenured coach, is also one of NHL's most respected coaches, which has likely helped Blashill's reputation, too. Blashill recently finished his third season with the Lightning. The Blackhawks have to hope that Blashill's time with Cooper and the gap between his first and second NHL head coaching opportunities benefit him. A majority of NHL head coaches have had multiple opportunities in the position. Of the league's current coaches, 19 have been NHL head coaches for two or more teams. Advertisement The Blackhawks have some similarities to the Red Wings teams Blashill coached. Outside of being a No. 12 seed in the NHL's bubble playoffs in 2020, the Blackhawks haven't qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2017. They underwent a slight rebuild under previous general manager Stan Bowman, then a much more direct and deep version once Davidson was promoted to the position in the 2021-22 season. The Blackhawks have since finished 27th, 30th, 31st and 31st in the standings. Davidson has aimed to largely build his team through the draft and has made eight first-round selections, five second-round selections and eight third-round selections over the last three drafts. The Blackhawks' NHL roster has begun to reflect those drafts more and more in recent years. Chicago finished this past season with seven of Davidson's draft picks in the NHL lineup. As with Detroit, there is no guarantee the Blackhawks' rebuild will work. Blashill should have some job security for some time, though. What he and Davidson have in their favor is the patience and support of Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz, who has voiced his confidence in Davidson and his plan multiple times in recent years. While the organization will want some improvement in the standings and development from their young players in the next couple years, Blashill won't likely face much pressure to win early. Most people expect the Blackhawks to still need some time before the playoffs become a realistic expectation.
Chicago Tribune
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
4 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks' 5-0 loss, including a postgame players-only meeting
PITTSBURGH — The Chicago Blackhawks used identical lineups in Sunday's win against the Pittsburgh Penguins and in Tuesday's rematch. They even used the same group for the puck drop. But the outcomes could've been more disparate with Tuesday's 5-0 loss. After beating the Pens 3-1 two days prior, the Hawks were shut out for just the second time this season — the other was on March 10 in a 3-0 road loss to the Avalanche. 'I don't think they let me down, they let themselves and their teammates down, right?' interim head coach Anders Sörensen said. 'That's the biggest part of it. We're a group here. 'The first period was good, but then we just came apart there. I can't put my finger on right now, but, yeah, I'm part of it too.' After the game, the Hawks held a players-only meeting before addressing reporters. 'I'd rather not say,' what was discussed, Connor Murphy said. 'Within the room, guys talk. That's our thing.' Chicago Blackhawks' Alex Vlasic feels he's over the 'hump' that was holding him back in 2nd full season There should've been plenty of material to rail about. Where the Hawks were sharp and connected at the United Center, they were far less cohesive at PPG Paints Arena. Passes were off-target, and turnovers were plentiful. The Pens' sticks disrupted several plays and Tristan Jarry stonewalled whatever attack the Hawks had left. The Hawks had forced a stalemate late into the first period when Kevin Korchinski was called for hooking Matt Nieto, a questionable call at best. The Penguins capitalized six seconds later — a Sidney Crosby wrister with 16 seconds left before the intermission. It went downhill from there. In the second period, the Hawks got in trouble when Teuvo Teräväinen made a soft breakout pass to Frank Nazar and Bryan Rust picked it off to keep it in the Hawks' end. Soon, Alex Vlasic found himself alone in a sort of Bermuda Triangle: Erik Karlsson to his back-door side, Crosby in the slot in front of him and Ville Koivunen to his left above the goal line, carrying the puck, ready to pick his poison. Koivunen chose a cross-crease pass to Karlsson for an easy one-timer and his 200th career goal. The Penguins broke open the game in the third, with Kris Letang charging in with a roof shot goal and Kevin Hayes padding the blowout with two more goals. 'We just didn't play good,' Ryan Donato said. 'There wasn't a lot of good things tonight. I don't know where you can begin.' Here are four takeaways. 1. The Hawks had 32 giveaways — and it showed. At least, that's how many were credited. There are games in which the stat sheets include a lot of harmless 'giveaways,' even some intentional turnovers to get out of even more dangerous situations. This game wasn't one of them. Some turnovers could be chalked up to youthful inexperience while others were just plain carelessness. 'Disconnected and forcing plays,' Murphy said, 'and some of us D panicking and chopping the puck around. Or forwards forcing plays when we're not keeping it simple enough and going forward with it.' 'You can't do it,' Donato added. 'It's just simple. If you're getting pinched in at the blue line, you chip it in.' He said the players need to hold each other accountable. Sörensen appeared more agitated when the subject of turnovers came up. 'That's the disappointing part, right?' he said. 'We were there (in the first period) and for it to come unglued like that in the second and third, it's unacceptable. 'And a lot of it is like turnovers.' It was night and day from Sunday. 'It's mind-boggling it can be like that 48 hours later,' Sörensen said. 2. You might ask, 'Why meet now?' Why have a players-only meeting in April when the team is second-to-last in the standings (22-46-10) and there are five games left in the season? 'Just to address games that sometimes guys feel like need to be addressed,' Murphy said. 'Sometimes it's good to blow off some steam and not sit on it for days.' And the younger players needed to see it and hear it. They needed to know how they lost mattered, and that it's unbefitting. 'Hopefully learn right from wrong,' Murphy said, referring to work ethic and details of winning hockey. Donato said he doesn't believe anyone was lulled into complacency by Sunday's win, but 'you just got to show up every night and give your 'A' effort every night. It's too good of a league. 'You can't get too comfortable. I don't think that's the case, we all just need to buy in and show up every night. Not just every so often.' 3. Sam Rinzel showed off some of his offensive repertoire. Rinzel showed at Minnesota that he can pick a corner on his shots, but he put a little extra cheese on a first-period scoring chance Tuesday. After taking a centering pass from Teuvo Teräväinen, Rinzel executed a drag-and-release shot in front of Rickard Rakell and Koivunen. His predraft scouting report may have undersold that part of his game, but now he's popped on the radar. 4. There are times to fault Korchinski, but … … the hooking penalty wasn't one of them. More on that in a second. First, on Hayes's second goal, Korchinski tried to take the inside position on a two-on-two, but Hayes slid back in front of him for a set-up pass from Danton Heinen. That's a tough task defensively, but something to chew on. Now, that 'hooking' on Nieto just looked like good defense. Where was the actual hook? Both players' sticks were flying with neither tying up the other player. But that quick whistle ended up being mighty costly for the Hawks. Sörensen said he objected to the call, but it went nowhere (in fact, the Hawks haven't gotten the benefit of the doubt much at all this season). 'They're not going to come talk to you if you want to yell at him, but I did talk to him between periods,' he said.
