How Jeff Blashill’s battle scars fit Blackhawks’ hopes: ‘I know what it’s going to take’

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CHICAGO — Jeff Blashill was once the premier young and up-and-coming hockey coach.

In his 30s, he rose quickly through the coaching ranks. He went from a college assistant to leading the Indiana Ice to a USHL championship, then began turning around Western Michigan’s hockey program in just one year. He joined the Detroit Red Wings as an NHL assistant, later took over their AHL affiliate and won a Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins. After three AHL seasons, he was promoted to head coach of the Red Wings.

Within seven years, Blashill held five different coaching jobs, all of which had been basically promotions. He couldn’t do any wrong. He quickly moved up the ladder, and the sky appeared to be the limit as he took over his first NHL head coaching position. There was optimism in Detroit that he would be the coach to maintain and build on the Red Wings’ storied tradition.

He wasn’t. How much of the Red Wings’ failures during his seven seasons as head coach fell on him is certainly debatable. Detroit’s roster was stripped down within a few years and required much more time to be rebuilt than Blashill was given. Even now, the Red Wings are still searching for their first playoff appearance since 2016.

Three seasons have passed since Blashill was let go by the Red Wings. Ten seasons have passed since he was named Red Wings head coach. Seventeen seasons have passed since Blashill was in the USHL. He’s no longer that young and up-and-coaching coach who couldn’t do any wrong. He’s 51. He’s been around. He’s failed. There isn’t that same glow around him. And that’s precisely what made him attractive to the Chicago Blackhawks and why he was ultimately introduced as their new head coach at the United Center on Tuesday.

The Blackhawks took a swing at the newest young and up-and-coming coach — David Carle — and thought they nearly had him. When Carle declined the Blackhawks’ offer and remained at the University of Denver, the search went in another direction. That’s when Blashill entered the picture and became a more viable candidate over time.

As Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson likes to put it, Blashill checked a lot of boxes. Some of those boxes were his success stories — his teams’ winning at other levels and his players’ development. But he also brought one thing he didn’t have when the Red Wings hired him: NHL experience. He knows what works, but just as important, what doesn’t work in the NHL. He can draw from his player development in Grand Rapids, what went wrong with the Red Wings, or the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s seen and done so much in the past decade and a half. He’s been held accountable. He knows how functional NHL coaching staffs, dressing rooms and organizations are supposed to work. He’s nearing 1,000 games on an NHL bench in the regular season and playoffs, including 542 as a head coach. He’s won and lost in nearly every fashion.

Right now, that’s probably what the Blackhawks need most out of their head coach. Though Davidson pursued Carle and was open to another first-time NHL head coach, the Blackhawks could use someone who isn’t fully learning on the job. Blashill brings confidence and understanding that can be acquired only through time and experience.

It’s debatable how much of the Blackhawks’ struggles over the last four seasons can be pinned on their last four head coaches — Jeremy Colliton, Derek King, Luke Richardson and Anders Sörensen — all first-timers. They weren’t exactly set up to succeed. But because of their inexperience, they were unable to apply their learnings the way Blashill can.

“I had the opportunities at different levels to come to similar types of situations. … We went in, we were able to implement a culture of accountability, create a championship standard, develop those young players and win,” Blashill said. “I’ve gone through seven years of a hard rebuild in Detroit. I know the pain that this group has gone through the last couple years. I also know the pitfalls that are potentially ahead. So, we’ll work like crazy to avoid those pitfalls as we go to lead this team into a better tomorrow.”

It’s not just his experiences. It’s what he learned from them, especially the trying ones. He said he believes the Blackhawks are ahead of where he left the Red Wings, but that he can apply knowledge from those tough times.

“One of the big things as a coach, you want to help your team and you want to find answers,” Blashill said. “So, at times, you’re searching for answers — how can we put our guys in the best position to have success? And there are certainly times you go through that you can oversearch for answers.

“Maybe (you) change a system when that’s not what needs to be done and sometimes you just have to stay calm, believe in the process and stay the course. I just think going through those times allows me to remain calm and stay focused on the process in the face of the adversity that you face when you’re trying to go from a team that’s near the bottom to being a team that’s at the top.”

That was one of the things that stood out to Davidson and his staff as they talked with Blashill. He referenced moments with the Red Wings and what he’d do differently now. He reflected on how he managed time, how he managed games, how he managed his staff and how he managed young players and veterans. He also cited lessons from his time on Jon Cooper’s Tampa Bay Lightning coaching staff.

Davidson hadn’t entered the search looking for a specific type of coach, but Blashill’s experience became part of what won the Blackhawks over.

“We wanted to talk to a number of different people in our process,” Davidson said, “but we didn’t want to put a box around it with no NHL experience, (or) a lot of NHL experience. … In the end, when we got in the room with Jeff and got to know him a little bit better … it felt like a no-brainer to tap into his experience and tap into what he’s lived and what he’s been through in the NHL as a head coach. It just made a lot of sense from that perspective, but it wasn’t something that was necessarily a deal breaker one way or another. … That time in Detroit as an NHL head coach certainly set him up for approaching this a different way and learning from that first tenure.”

Davidson and Blashill were both careful Tuesday not to put any specific timelines on future success. Davidson spoke of it using the words “in time.” When asked more directly when he expects to win, Blashill said he couldn’t answer. Again, though, he framed his lengthy answer around his experience.

“I’ll never put a timeline on that; I can’t,” Blashill said. “I have no way of knowing how long or how quick. I didn’t know when I went to Indy if it would take us multiple years; honestly, I didn’t know if I was going to make it to Christmas. That was my first head coaching job, two of my kids were 1 and 3, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But we ended up winning a championship, and we won it faster than people thought we would. I didn’t know when I went to Western how long it would take to get that program back to a level of relevance; in that year, we ended up going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in however (long). I didn’t know when I went to Grand Rapids how long, and we ended up winning a championship and had success after that. You just don’t know for sure.

“I know what it’s going to take, and I know process is the most important piece of that. What I will say is I won’t rush the process for a timeline. I believe in the process. I was able to actually to see a pretty unique (example) in a different sport when I was in Detroit and watched (Lions coach) Dan Campbell, his first year, have very very little success, but I watched him continue and stay strong and build a culture. When you see those types of experiences, it’s a good reminder to you as a coach: You have to make sure you get that culture in place. Once you get that culture in place, the winning takes care of itself. I don’t have an answer how long, and to be honest, that’s not really what my worry is. My worry is making sure we do it right from day one, and we continue to do it right on a day-by-day basis.”

Blashill understands that better now than he did in his 30s. He was clear on his end goal with the Blackhawks on Tuesday. That goal was undoubtedly the same when he was hired by the Red Wings to be their head coach in June 2015. The difference now is that he has a much clearer understanding of how to achieve it.

“All those experiences for me mean this: It means on day one of training camp, I can stand in front of our group and know exactly what it’s going to take for us to get to the top. And not guess, not hope, but know,” Blashill said. “So, I’m extremely excited about that and that opportunity. I don’t want to sound like it’s going to be easy because it’s not. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to take more sacrifice and more work than most people are willing to give, but for those who are willing to give it, I think the reward’s going to be great. In time, this great city of Chicago and our great Blackhawks fans, we can deliver a championship-level team, and I look forward to getting to that moment.”

(Photo: Scott Powers / The Athletic)

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