Who are the best Chicago Blackhawks coaches of all time?

The Chicago Blackhawks have had an illustrious history that goes back nearly 100 years. In that time, there have been numerous head coaches behind the bench.

The Chicago Blackhawks were founded in 1926. Since that time, there have been thirty-eight head coaches behind the ‘Hawks bench. Some went on to become household names and NHL Hall-of-Famers, while others made as minimal of an impact as possible in Chicago.

While the spot for best Blackhawks head coach of all time is hardly up for debate, there are other bench bosses who also made a significant impact during their time in the Windy City. After all, for all the bad days and losing seasons that the Blackhawks saw after their 1961 Stanley Cup victory, there were some good ‘Hawks teams during that time too, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s.

There are a few head coaches of note that made a significant impact but failed to win the Stanley Cup (although one came quite close). Oftentimes, winning championships is the sole metric looked at for whether or not a head coach is successful.

However, there can also be a case made for other Blackhawks coaches that, although they may not have the Stanley Cup rings to their name, they made a splash with the team nevertheless.

That being said, with the long history that an original six team like Chicago has, it is hard to simply narrow down the three best head coaches. However, that is what we’ll attempt to do. Here are the top three head coaches in Chicago Blackhawks history.

Mike Keenan is one of the more controversial and perhaps one of the most disliked head coaches in NHL history.

After all, he didn’t get his nickname, “Iron Mike” for nothing. Despite his somewhat rocky reputation, Keenan still led the Blackhawks through a period in which they saw a decent amount of success.

While his first season as head coach in Chicago saw an abysmal 27 wins, Keenan was able to consistently pick up the pace year after year beyond that. Just two years later, in 1991, the Blackhawks posted a .663 points percentage and were just one win shy of 50 victories on the season. The next year, Keenan led the team to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1973, though they were quickly swept by Mario Lemieux and the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins.

In general, Keenan is seen as one of the more consequential coaches in the history of the Blackhawks. While his contribution in terms of championships may never have come to fruition, Keenan still took the team to a place that they hadn’t been in a long time and is still considered one of the best to ever step behind the bench in Chicago.

While he may have never been what the Blackhawks wanted him to be, they still have plenty of reasons to be thankful that Iron Mike was one of their head coaches.

In terms of the greatest coaches of all time, Billy Reay is not a name that comes up that often.

However, his contributions to the Chicago Blackhawks are absolutely monumental, and Reay helped to mold the 60’s era team into what they were.

Reay was behind the bench in Chicago for an astounding 14 years, a benchmark that is still a Blackhawks record. He is the Hawks’ all-time leader in games coached, guiding Chicago for 1012 games from 1963 to 1977. Even more astounding, the Blackhawks only missed the playoffs 2 out of those 14 years.

Reay would also lead the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Finals three times, including a 49-win season in 1971 that saw them lead the Western Conference with 107 points. Sadly, the Hawks were unable to capture the Cup in any of these three trips. However, the mark that he left on the team was undeniable.

The late, great Stan Mikita reflected on Reay in 2012, and talked about the great respect that he had for his former head coach:

He let players play and demanded only that you give your best. Ask the guys who played for him. Billy Reay was a terrific coach and a good man. A real good man.

While he will always be considered one of the best of all time, Billy Reay falls just short of the best Hawks coach ever.