Svetlana Velmar-Janković

The Chicago Blackhawks are an American professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the Central Division of the Western Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] The team was first named the "Chicago Black Hawks", until 1986, when spelling found in the original franchise documents spelled the franchise name as the "Chicago Blackhawks", making the team change its name in response.[2] The team is also referred to as the "Hawks".[3] The Blackhawks began their NHL play in the 1926–27 season as an expansion team with the Detroit Cougars and the New York Rangers, and is one of the Original Six teams.[4] The franchise has 6 Stanley Cup championships, most recently winning in the 2014–15 season. Having played in the Chicago Coliseum (1926–1929) and the Chicago Stadium (1929–1994), the Blackhawks have played their home games at the United Center since 1994. The Blackhawks are owned by the Wirtz Corporation, chaired by Danny Wirtz; Kyle Davidson serves as the team's general manager. The Blackhawks named Nick Foligno as captain in the 2024–25 season, following the team's decision to not re-sign Jonathan Toews for the 2023–24 season.[5][6]
There have been 37 head coaches for the Blackhawks. The franchise's first head coach was Pete Muldoon, who coached for 44 games in the 1926–27 season. However, he is also well remembered for allegedly "putting a curse" on the Blackhawks, which stipulated that the team would never finish in first in the NHL.[7] The Blackhawks never had a first-place finish until 40 years after that incident.[8] Hughie Lehman, originally the team's goaltender, became the Blackhawks' third head coach after yelling at the first Blackhawks owner, Frederic McLaughlin, that his proposed plays were "the craziest bunch of junk [he had] ever seen".[9]
Orval Tessier became the only head coach to have been awarded the Jack Adams Award with the Blackhawks by winning it in the 1982–83 season.[10] Tommy Gorman, Tommy Ivan, and Rudy Pilous are the only Blackhawks head coaches to have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.[11] Gorman, Bill Stewart, Pilous, and Joel Quenneville are the only coaches to have won a Stanley Cup championship as the head coach of the Hawks.[12]
Billy Reay, the Blackhawks' head coach for 14 seasons, is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season and playoff games coached and wins, with 1012 regular-season games coached, 516 regular-season game wins, 117 playoff games coached, and 57 playoff game wins. Twenty-three head coaches spent their entire NHL head coaching careers with the Blackhawks. Darryl Sutter and Brian Sutter are the only pair of brothers[13] to have coached the Blackhawks; both coached the Hawks for three seasons each.
Joel Quenneville was the head coach of the Blackhawks from the 2008–09 season to early in the 2018–19 season.[14][15] and guided the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015. At the time of his firing, Quenneville was the second-winningest coach both in the Blackhawks and NHL history, and was also second in all-time games coached.[14]
The current coach of the Blackhawks is Anders Sorensen, who was named interim head coach on December 5, 2024, following the firing of Luke Richardson.[16]
Key
# | Number of coaches[a] |
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins = Two points |
L | Losses = No points |
T | Ties = One point |
OT | Overtime/shootout losses = One point[b] |
PTS | Points |
Win% | Winning percentage[c] |
Ref | Reference |
* | Spent entire NHL head coaching career with the Blackhawks |
† | Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder |
‡ | Spent entire NHL head coaching career with the Blackhawks and have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder |
Coaches




# | Name | Term[d] | Regular season | Playoffs | Achievements | Ref | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GC | W | L | T/OT | PTS | Win% | GC | W | L | T | Win% | |||||
1 | Pete Muldoon* | 1926–1927 | 44 | 19 | 22 | 3 | 41 | .466 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 | [18] | |
2 | Barney Stanley* | 1927–1928 | 23 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 10 | .217 | — | — | — | — | — | [19] | |
3 | Hughie Lehman* | 1928 | 21 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 7 | .167 | — | — | — | — | — | [20] | |
4 | Herb Gardiner* | 1928–1929 | 32 | 5 | 23 | 4 | 14 | .219 | — | — | — | — | — | [21] | |
5 | Dick Irvin | 1929 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 8 | .333 | — | — | — | — | — | [22] | |
6 | Tom Shaughnessy* | 1929–1930 | 21 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 23 | .548 | — | — | — | — | — | [23] | |
7 | Bill Tobin* | 1930 | 23 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 24 | .522 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 | [24] | |
— | Dick Irvin | 1930–1931 | 44 | 24 | 17 | 3 | 51 | .580 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | [22] | |
— | Bill Tobin* | 1931–1932 | 48 | 18 | 19 | 11 | 47 | .490 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | [24] | |
8 | Emil Iverson* | 1932–1933 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 22 | .524 | — | — | — | — | — | [25] | |
9 | Godfrey Matheson* | 1933 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | [26] | |
10 | Tommy Gorman† | 1933–1934 | 73 | 28 | 28 | 17 | 73 | .500 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | .813 | 1933–34 Stanley Cup championship[12] | [27] |
11 | Clem Loughlin* | 1934–1937 | 144 | 61 | 63 | 20 | 142 | .493 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .375 | [28] | |
12 | Bill Stewart* | 1937–1939 | 69 | 22 | 35 | 12 | 56 | .406 | 10 | 7 | 3 | — | .700 | 1937–38 Stanley Cup championship[12] | [29] |
13 | Paul Thompson* | 1939–1944 | 272 | 104 | 127 | 41 | 249 | .458 | 19 | 7 | 12 | — | .368 | [30] | |
14 | Johnny Gottselig* | 1944–1947 | 187 | 62 | 105 | 20 | 144 | .385 | 4 | 0 | 4 | — | .000 | [31] | |
15 | Charlie Conacher* | 1948–1950 | 162 | 56 | 84 | 22 | 134 | .414 | — | — | — | — | — | [32] | |
16 | Ebbie Goodfellow* | 1950–1952 | 140 | 30 | 91 | 19 | 79 | .282 | — | — | — | — | — | [33] | |
17 | Sid Abel | 1952–1954 | 140 | 39 | 79 | 22 | 100 | .357 | 7 | 3 | 4 | — | .429 | [34] | |
18 | Frank Eddolls* | 1954–1955 | 70 | 13 | 40 | 17 | 43 | .307 | — | — | — | — | — | [35] | |
— | Dick Irvin | 1955–1956 | 70 | 19 | 39 | 12 | 50 | .357 | — | — | — | — | — | [22] | |
19 | Tommy Ivan† | 1956–1957 | 103 | 26 | 56 | 21 | 73 | .354 | — | — | — | — | — | [36] | |
20 | Rudy Pilous‡ | 1957–1963 | 387 | 162 | 151 | 74 | 398 | .514 | 40 | 18 | 22 | — | .450 | 1960–61 Stanley Cup championship[12] | [37] |
21 | Billy Reay | 1963–1976 | 1,012 | 516 | 335 | 161 | 1,193 | .589 | 117 | 57 | 60 | — | .487 | [38] | |
22 | Bill White* | 1976–1977 | 46 | 16 | 24 | 6 | 38 | .413 | 2 | 0 | 2 | — | .000 | [39] | |
23 | Bob Pulford | 1977–1979 | 160 | 61 | 65 | 34 | 156 | .488 | 4 | 0 | 8 | — | .000 | [40] | |
24 | Eddie Johnston | 1979–1980 | 80 | 34 | 27 | 19 | 87 | .544 | 7 | 3 | 4 | — | .429 | [41] | |
25 | Keith Magnuson* | 1980–1982 | 132 | 49 | 57 | 26 | 124 | .470 | 3 | 0 | 3 | — | .000 | [42] | |
— | Bob Pulford | 1982 | 28 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 26 | .464 | 15 | 8 | 7 | — | .533 | [40] | |
26 | Orval Tessier* | 1982–1985 | 213 | 99 | 93 | 21 | 219 | .514 | 18 | 9 | 9 | — | .500 | 1982–83 Jack Adams Award winner[10] | [43] |
— | Bob Pulford | 1985–1987 | 187 | 84 | 77 | 26 | 194 | .519 | 22 | 9 | 13 | — | .409 | [40] | |
27 | Bob Murdoch | 1987–1988 | 80 | 30 | 41 | 9 | 69 | .431 | 5 | 1 | 4 | — | .200 | [44] | |
28 | Mike Keenan | 1988–1992 | 320 | 153 | 126 | 41 | 347 | .542 | 60 | 33 | 27 | — | .550 | [45] | |
29 | Darryl Sutter | 1992–1995 | 216 | 110 | 80 | 26 | 246 | .569 | 26 | 11 | 15 | — | .423 | [46] | |
30 | Craig Hartsburg | 1995–1998 | 246 | 104 | 102 | 40 | 248 | .504 | 16 | 8 | 8 | — | .500 | [47] | |
31 | Dirk Graham* | 1998–1999 | 59 | 16 | 35 | 8 | 40 | .339 | — | — | — | — | — | [48] | |
32 | Lorne Molleken* | 1999–1999 | 47 | 18 | 19 | 10 | 46 | .489 | — | — | — | — | — | [49] | |
— | Bob Pulford | 1999–2000 | 58 | 28 | 24 | 6 | 62 | .534 | — | — | — | — | — | [40] | |
33 | Alpo Suhonen* | 2000–2001 | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 70 | .427 | — | — | — | — | — | [50] | |
34 | Brian Sutter | 2001–2004 | 246 | 91 | 103 | 52 | 234 | .476 | 5 | 1 | 4 | — | .200 | [51] | |
35 | Trent Yawney* | 2005–2006 | 103 | 33 | 55 | 15 | 81 | .393 | — | — | — | — | — | [52] | |
36 | Denis Savard* | 2006–2008 | 147 | 65 | 66 | 16 | 146 | .497 | — | — | — | — | — | [53] | |
37 | Joel Quenneville | 2008–2018 | 797 | 452 | 249 | 96 | 1,000 | .627 | 128 | 76 | 52 | — | .594 | 3 Stanley Cup championships (2009–10, 2012–13, 2014–15)[12] | [54] |
38 | Jeremy Colliton* | 2018–2021 | 205 | 87 | 92 | 26 | 200 | .488 | 9 | 4 | 5 | — | .444 | [55] | |
39 | Derek King* | 2021–2022 | 70 | 27 | 33 | 10 | 64 | .457 | — | — | — | — | — | [56] | |
40 | Luke Richardson* | 2022– 2024 | 164 | 49 | 102 | 13 | 111 | .338 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
— | Anders Sorensen* | 2024–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
Notes
- ^ A running total of the number of coaches of the Blackhawks; thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
- ^ Before the 2005–06 season, the NHL instituted a penalty shootout for regular season games that remained tied after a five-minute overtime period, which prevented ties.[17]
- ^ In ice hockey, the winning percentage is calculated by dividing points by maximum possible points.
- ^ Each year is linked to an article about that particular NHL season.
References
- General
- "Chicago Blackhawks Coach Register". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
- Specific
- ^ "Teams". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ Diamond, Dan (1991). The Official National Hockey League 75th Anniversary Commemorative Book. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. p. 291. ISBN 0-7710-6727-5
- ^ "This Month In Hawks History: June". Chicago Blackhawks. National Hockey League. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Do Original Six teams still matter in the NHL?". ESPN. February 23, 2007. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Front Office". Chicago Blackhawks. National Hockey League. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Roster". Chicago Blackhawks. National Hockey League. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "The McLaughlin Years". Chicago Blackhawks. National Hockey League. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
- ^ "Chicago Blackhawks". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
- ^ Allen, Kevin; Duff, Bob; Bower, Johnny (2002). Without Fear: Hockey's 50 Greatest Goaltenders. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-57243-484-4. OCLC 49936232.
- ^ a b "Jack Adams Award". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
- ^ "Hockey Hall of Fame inductees — Builders by Induction Year". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e "Stanley Cup Champions and Finalists". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Brent Sutter cites family in explaining resignation as Devils coach". Calgary Herald. June 9, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ a b "RELEASE: Blackhawks make coaching change". NHL.com. November 6, 2018. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ "Blackhawks fire Savard after 4 games, hire Quenneville". ESPN. October 16, 2008. Archived from the original on November 4, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
- ^ Brehm, Mike. "Chicago Blackhawks fire coach Luke Richardson, name Anders Sorensen interim coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- ^ "Official Rules" (PDF). National Hockey League. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 11, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
- ^ "Pete Muldoon Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Barney Stanley Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Hugh Lehman Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Herb Gardiner Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Dick Irvin Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Tom Shaughnessy Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ a b "Bill Tobin Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Emil Iverson Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Godfrey Matheson Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Tommy Gorman Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Clem Loughlin Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Bill Stewart Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Paul Thompson Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Johnny Gottselig Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Charlie Conacher Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Ebbie Goodfellow Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Sid Abel Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Frank Eddolls Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on July 19, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Tommy Ivan Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on June 26, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Rudy Pilous Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Billy Reay Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Bill White Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Bob Pulford Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Eddie Johnston Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on September 4, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Keith Magnuson Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Orval Tessier Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Bob Murdoch Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Mike Keenan Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Darryl Sutter Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Craig Hartsburg Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on September 4, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Dirk Graham Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Lorne Molleken Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Alpo Suhonen Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Brian Sutter Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Trent Yawney Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on September 13, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Denis Savard Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Joel Quenneville Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Jeremy Colliton Coaching Reference". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ "Derek King Coaching Reference". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.