Top 3 head coaches in Blackhawks history

Anyone who follows hockey at any level knows that a team's success comes down to one person. It is not one elite center, offensively gifted defensemen, or Hall of Fame goaltender. It is the guy behind the bench. The guy who holds all of the cards. The matchups. The lineups. The scheduled days off for players in the lineup. This is all done with a purpose.

Sometimes they fail. Other times, they succeed more than others because they have been through it more. The Chicago Blackhawks have had 42 head coaches in their history, and most have had success. In the best and worst of the franchise, we first look at the best three head coaches in Blackhawks history.

Billy Reay

Billy Reay laced up the skates and had successful stints with the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings before he took his skills behind the bench. In his NHL career, he posted 105 goals and 162 assists for 267 points in 479 games before retiring in 1953. He would coach te Toronto Maple Leafs before heading to the Windy City.

Reay was named the Blackhawks' head coach on June 10, 1963, and would remain behind the bench for 14 seasons, spanning from the 1963-64 season to the 1976-77 season. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, he was known as a players' coach and wore flashy hats and dapper suits. He had the honor of having coached greats like Glenn Hall, Bobby Hull, and Stan Mikita.

Reay became the franchise's all-time leader for most regular-season and playoff games coached and wins. He accounted for 1,012 regular-season games coached with 516 wins and 117 playoff games coached and 57 wins. His complete coaching record with Chicago includes a regular-season record of 516-335-161 for a .589 points percentage, while his playoff record is 57-60 for a .487 winning percentage. Reay would pass away in 2004 at the age of 86 from liver cancer in Madison, Wisconsin.

Joel Quenneville

Joel Quenneville would replace Blackhawks legend Denis Savard as head coach on October 16, 2008, and became the best head coach the franchise ever had. He would coach the Blackhawks from the 2008-09 season to the early portion of the 2018-19 season. Quenneville guided the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015, with the 2013 championship coming in the same season the team won the President's Trophy for having the best overall record in the regular season.

With success comes failure, however. Quenneville would be fired early in the 2018-19 season after Chicago got off to a terrible start. While some think that stains his reputation with the Blackhawks, he does go down as the best coach in the history of the organization. He would leave after winning three Stanley Cups and add to his overall wins record as a coach. Aside from being the second-winningest coach in NHL history and Blackhawks history, he also ranks second in all-time games coached. His record in the regular season is 452-249-96 for a .627 points percentage, and he has a playoff record of 76-52 for a .594 winning percentage.

Mike Keenan

No NHL head coach got underneath the skin of other coaches, his own team, organization, and the fans more than Mike Keenan. Known for his brash attitude and confrontational behavior behind the bench, he had a winning mentality that brought him much success. While his stay in Chicago was short-lived, he had an impact, and the Blackhawks did make noise in the playoffs each time he was behind the bench. Keenan was the head coach for Chicago from 1988-89 through the 1991-92 season and coached 320 games, leaving with a record of 153-126-41 for a .542 points percentage.

In the playoffs, he also fared well, posting a 33-27 record for a .550 winning percentage. As mentioned, he led the Blackhawks to the playoffs each of his four years behind the bench with no Stanley Cups. Chicago lost in the Conference Finals twice (Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers), the division finals once (Minnesota North Stars), and to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final.

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