Blackhawks: Jeremy Colliton contract extension makes sense for the team

The Chicago Blackhawks are keeping their head coach along for the next few years.

The Chicago Blackhawks added Jeremy Colliton as their head coach on November 6, 2018. The move came after they fired Joel Quenneville, long-time head coach of the team. When Colliton took the position, he was given a very tough job.

After missing the playoffs in 2017-18 with a record of 33-39-10, the Blackhawks wanted to see a move in the right direction during 2018-19. However, when Joel Quenneville and the ‘Hawks started the year off with a record of 6-6-3, it looked like Chicago was going to be out of it again.

Colliton joined a sinking ship when he was given the head coach position, and the rest of the season showed it when he went 30-28-9. A lot of the issues Chicago has had can not fall on Jeremy Colliton’s shoulders.

Colliton is not responsible for the players he has at his disposal. In large part, it is due to the Blackhawks championships and selling at the deadline that they now find themselves as a bottom team in the league. Honestly, that is not something to be upset about; it is how sports work.

Winning comes at a cost, but at least the Blackhawks did win. Fans watched the Blackhawks make it to five western conference finals in seven seasons and win three Stanley Cups in six. Did the team decline a little too quickly? Sure it did, but what we have in front of us as Blackhawks fans is an opportunity to watch the next generation take its place in Chicago, and that starts with Colliton.

I want to see Stan Bowman and Jeremy Colliton succeed in the future with Chicago because if they don’t, it will just mean the team is facing an even longer rebuild and an era of mediocrity. Chicago has seen several coaching changes the past few years, but how much has that improved, different teams?

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The Cubs fired Joe Maddon and brought in David Ross, and the team did not look any better after the switch. When the Bears fired John Fox and brought in Matt Nagy, everyone hoped to see a rejuvenated Bears ready to win. While the team did have a good season, they eventually came back down to earth, and now Nagy’s job is in question.

Every fan should know by now that the Blackhawks are rebuilding, and when Chicago added Colliton, they emphasized how much of a great communicator he is for young players in the locker room. Moreover, a rebuild will only get lengthened when it sees new coaches and GMs serve during a short period of time.

Now Colliton is not perfect. Obviously, we have seen some bad decisions by the head coach in the past, like his decision to play Quenneville on the top line during a game during the playoffs last season. But in the long run, I think Chicago is better off keeping Colliton around.

Firing Colliton or questioning why Chicago gave him an extension considering he is 62-58-17 thus far behind the bench, does not make sense. This team is rebuilding, which means we need to let the current group lead this team forward for the time being, no matter how annoying it is to see Stan Bowman employed.