CHICAGO — BlackhawksKyle Davidson, general manager, stated Tuesday that Derek King, interim coach is still in contention for the full-time position.
Over the weekend, the Blackhawks made it clear that Rob Cookson and Marc Crawford would not be returning to the team next season. King’s position isn’t affected, according to Davidson.
“With respect for Marc and Rob, I want to have a little bit of a fresh slate here as we enter the next head-coaching or coaching regime,” Davidson stated.
Davidson, who was named general manager after the team removed his interim tag on March 1st, stated that he would like to hire a coach by mid-July.
He said, “I don’t think you want too much into the offseason before knowing who your coach is.”
After a disappointing 28-42-12 season, the Blackhawks are now trying to pick up the pieces with a Friday night overtime loss at Buffalo.
Davidson is also working to fill out his front office, in addition to resolving team’s coaching issues. Jeff Greenberg, who came from the helm of the Davidson team, was appointed associate general manager. Chicago Cubsas the Blackhawks’ director of strategic systems and operations in hockey.
Greenberg applied for the position of general manager, but the team elected to remain with Davidson. He congratulated Davidson on his job and the relationship grew.
“The systems they have created, especially at the Cubs in Jeff’s case, were appealing to me and I saw great and great value in them,” Davidson stated. It’s something I felt compelled to do, coming from the place he has come from and seeing the entire process of baseball being built from scratch.
Davidson will also have to make some interesting decisions regarding long-time stars Jonathan ToewsAnd Patrick Kane. A problem exists at the goaltender’s position.
Toews and Kane still have one-year left on their contracts. However, the team could be in discussions to extend the talks with the forwards. Their interest in remaining on the team during a rebuild is not clear.
Davidson stated, “There is definitely a place Jonathan Toews’ and Patrick Kane’s moving forward.” “I don’t think that there is any doubt about this. We’re talking about their roles and how they fit in to the picture.
After they traded, the Blackhawks failed to score in net Marc-Andre FleuryMinnesota in March, and they may be able to improve their goaltending situation during the summer. Kevin LankinenAnd Collin DeliaBoth are eligible for free agency
Davidson stated that it was still early to talk about this. “We need to bring some NHL contract in. Kevin and Collin are both part of this discussion. They are not on the candidate list. However, there are some players we will look at in free agency to see where we want to go. I don’t rule out the trade market. It’s impossible to predict what will happen.”