Should Chicago Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson be on the hot seat?

The Chicago Blackhawks squandered a two-goal lead to lose a close 3-2 game to the Minnesota Wild. That defeat put the Blackhawks back at the top of the Tankathon standings.

This was supposed to be the season of raised expectations, and yet it feels more like the past two campaigns were monitoring Tankathon became a daily occurrence for Hawks fans.

Being the worst team in the NHL has left many wondering if head coach Luke Richardson is on the hot seat.

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski places Richardson in his "burning-up" category when it comes to how hot Richardson's seat is.

He also suggests the possibility that former Hawks coach Joel Quenneville could replace Derek Lalonde in Detroit. Do not expect Quenneville to make a surprise return to Chicago to replace Richardson if he is fired. Quenneville was one of the key figures in the cover-up of the alleged sexual assault committed by his video coach, Brad Aldrich, toward former first-round pick Kyle Beach in 2010.

It is a major reason Quenneville has been in hockey exile since the Jenner & Block report detailing his role came out. Now that he has been reinstated, there is speculation he could return to the Hawks' long-time rival.

In the case of Richardson possibly being fired, Wyshynski suggests assistant coach Derek King take over. He already has replaced Jeremy Colliton in-season, so it would make sense to tap King again.

It begs to wonder if Richardson will be fired this season.

General manager Kyle Davidson made some moves this offseason to improve the talent. It was not to the level the club would be contending for the playoffs.

This franchise is still in the middle of a massive rebuild so wins and losses still do not matter.

However, Connor Bedard has just four goals, and Richardson has constantly shuffled in new linemates, making it hard for Bedard to establish chemistry with any of his teammates on the top line.

You can legit ponder if Luke Richardson has somehow found a way to do the impossible and ruin a phenom.

He also bungled the healthy-scratch of Taylor Hall, although that move seems to have worked considering Hall recently registered a hat trick.

Anyone demanding Richardson's firing has to take into account that Davidson is a patient man. He has not rushed any of his prized prospects' development. While players are treated differently than coaches, it is not out of the question for Kyle from Chicago to show Richardson the same patience.

Also, the Hawks' struggles come down to just not being able to score enough goals. The goaltending and defense has been terrific. The issue is Petr Mrazek is just a good goalie being asked to be incredible because the offense can barely score more than two goals on most nights.

If the offense can get going consistently like what was on display against Dallas, then the Hawks may no longer be at the top of the Tankathon standings.