If the recent firing of head coach Luke Richardson was simply to give the new regime a jump start on preparing for next season, it would have been done later in the season during a bigger break in the action, such as during the two weeks the team gets off for the Four Nations Face-Off in February. But the Blackhawks didn’t do so because new interim head coach Anders Sorensen has a job to do – help this team reach its full potential as fast as possible.
Sure, Chicago may not be playoff-bound this season, and the focus of the franchise and GM Kyle Davidson is still on an eventual dynasty years down the road. However, Davidson made it abundantly clear when speaking to the media on Friday that he didn’t believe the team he put together was playing up to its full potential.
It’s already clear that Sorensen has identified a few areas where the Blackhawks struggled under Richardson this season and aims to fix them. At practice Friday, Sorensen told his players that “effort is going to fix a lot of things.” He also aims to change the team’s tactics to drive more offense.
“We want to encourage our D to be up in the rush. We did some stuff like that in practice today. We need to get skating here – we have some guys that can move…so try to play to their strength. Just encouraging guys to be up the ice more. Defend on the forecheck vs. waiting.”
- Anders Sorensen
But Sorensen’s most important business was in the lineup. One of the biggest issues fans and viewers had with Richardson, especially this season, was that Chicago’s lineup would be shuffled on a nightly basis. That meant it was nearly impossible for skaters to develop chemistry on their own lines, like Connor Bedard and Philipp Kurashev had done last year. Sorensen, who put together a top line of Kurashev, Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen in practice Friday, said the goal is to develop a bit more consistency.
“Chemistry is a big part of it, and we want to be patient with some guys. Obviously there has to be accountability… We're trying to build some continuity in that area, for sure.”
- Anders Sorensen
However, many would argue that Sorensen has an even bigger job for the rest of this season – help Bedard. The face of the franchise has struggled by his standards this season, notching five goals and 19 points in 26 games. If Chicago’s rebuild is to net any success, Bedard absolutely has to pan out. Sorensen is already doing his part in figuring out how to do just that, saying that the team has “got to find a way to get him the puck in motion.” More notably, the two met individually later on Friday so that Bedard could give his thoughts on what could help him succeed.
