It seems Chicago Blackhawks Head Coach Jeremy Colliton has worn out his welcome, at least with fans at United Centre. Colliton, who has been the bench boss in Chicago for just a little over a year, was met with a chorus of boos for a home game against the Minnesota Wild Sunday night. Check it out:
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Colliton's boos are directly related to Chicago's terrible season so far in 2019-20. In 30 games, the team has gone 12-15-6, well below .500 and at the very bottom of the Central Division. It also likely has a lot to do with Saturday night's loss to the St. Louis Blues in which Chicago collapsed with a third period 3-0 lead. The Blues won the game 4-3 in regulation.
It's difficult to entirely fault Colliton for the Blackhawks' current state, though. He's inherited a team that went through their glory years in the salary cap era, winning cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015, and is now left with aging once-key players with large contracts that make it nearly impossible to sign players in their prime. There are prospects in the system (Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist, Alec Regula, etc.) but it will take time for these to develop. In the meantime, Chicago is on track to miss the playoffs for the third season in a row, which is another major factor in the restlessness of fans.
Colliton's promotion from the AHL's Rockford IceHogs to the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks last November marked his first head coaching gig in the big league. At just 34, he's the youngest active head coach in the entire NHL. He took over behind Chicago's bench after the team fired Joel Quenneville, who had spent 10 years as head coach.
Chicago fared better Sunday night, defeating Minnesota 5-3.
