Chicago Blackhawks Fire Head Coach Luke Richardson: Did the right man take the fall?

My initial reaction to this news was shock, followed nano-seconds later by a cold understanding.

I understand where the Blackhawks are, and more desperately, I know where they were supposed to be. What did we hear all offseason from Kyle Davidson?

"Finishing second to last in the league standings is unacceptable, and we must make the necessary moves to ensure that it won't happen again." I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist.

Well, great news Kyle! Your wish was granted you aren't second to last in league standings you are dead last... emphasis on DEAD!

Look, I understand this move.

Richardson's win-loss record in the NHL is appalling, and this team had expectations to be more competitive than they are.

However, I ask if Richardson is truly the primary culprit behind this team's malaise because the man who put this roster together bears culpability, too.

It is time to be honest about a man I greatly admire.

Kyle Davidson has largely executed a simple, and ingenious plan to slowly rebuild the Chicago Blackhawks back to contention from the ground up.

He has received glowing praise for the teardown of the roster several years ago; acquiring high draft picks and turning those picks into hyper-exciting prospects like Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, and of course Connor Bedard. However, the question remained, could Davidson build a team as effectively as he un-built a team?

He has not this season.

It has become painfully evident that this combination of players, the Tyler Bertuzzis, the Teavo Teravainens, and others, do not fit together.

Davidson filled out a roster but failed to build a cohesive team.

The bet he is making here is that Richardson was more responsible for the team's lack of cohesion than was his roster construction. In other words, the pieces he got were the right pieces, but they needed a different coach to utilize them effectively.

We should see interim coach Anders Sorenson come in and unlock this team at least marginally.

They should climb out of last place and at the very least, score more goals. If that happens, then obviously there is some validity to the idea that Richardson was not up to the task of coaching this team.

Therefore Davidson made the right move. One small detail that bears mention, however... Who hired Luke Richardson? Oh yeah... Kyle Davidson.

If you set your house ablaze and then manage to put it out with the garden hose, are you a hero or a villain? These are the questions that will now be asked of Kyle Davidson in the coming weeks and months.

In truth, however, there is one glaring and obvious reason for Richardson's firing, which makes perfect sense. It is painful to discuss because discussing it is an admission of reality, but here goes: Connor Bedard looks worse in year two than he did in year one.

Ouch.

Look, many players have "sophomore slumps" but honestly, Bedard is rarely even noticeable this season. He looks uncomfortable, lacking in confidence, and dejected.

In my opinion, Bedard's regression is the number one reason that Richardson was shown the door.

That isn't to blame young Connor for Richardson's firing, but it seems to be a simple reality. Davidson is chiefly concerned with putting his young superstar in positions to succeed and dominate.

I think after watching Richardson cycle line-mate after line-mate, winger after winger, up with Bedard, Davidson lost confidence that his coach knew how to utilize the tantalizing talent of Bedard.

It is fair to question how Connor Bedard could look so lost most nights given the absurd talent we all know him to possess, but it's beyond just Bedard. Other players look lost too, namely Philip Kurashev. He had a breakout season last year and has followed that up by turning into a ghost this season.

I'm not sure if that is Kurashev's fault, but he clearly has lost his confidence as well. Those are two of the Hawks' best forwards from last season, both looking significantly worse, with better teammates this season. Richardson must take some blame for that.

All in all, I'm not sure how much this will improve the team, but it certainly won't make them worse.

Sorenson is a very capable coach who is renowned for his talent in building up the play of young players. Let's hope he can unlock Bedard and get him out of the funk he's been in.

Something needed to change here before it got too late, and now all that's left to do is see what happens next. Will the team improve and prove Davidson fired the guilty party? Or will the team continue to disappoint, and raise further questions about Kyle Davidson's future as the Blackhawk's GM? Only time will tell.