With Carle Out of the Mix, 8 Other Candidates Listed for Blackhawks Coaching Job

1 day ago  /  NHL Trade Rumors

We learned over the weekend that the Chicago Blackhawks' No. 1 choice to fill their head coaching vacancy, David Carle, has withdrawn his name from consideration. So who do the Hawks turn to next?  Scott Powers and Shayna Goldman of The Athletic have compiled a list of 8 head coaching candidates for Chicago. Anders Sorensen took over as interim bench boss after the Blackhawks fired Luke Richardson on December 5, 2024. Sorensen remains one of the candidates, but there are many other external names to choose from:In alphabetical order:Jay LeachTodd NelsonJay PandolfoBrad ShawAnders SorensenMarco SturmRick TocchetJay WoodcroftTocchet would be the highest profile name on the list, but his availability is still in question, as the Vancouver Canucks have a team option on him for the 2025-26 season, and are interested in signing him to an extension. Woodcroft was let go by the Edmonton Oilers early in the 2023-24 season when the team got off to a terrible start. With one full season plus 13 games under his belt as an NHL coach, he has a .643 points percentage. But with the talent that the Oilers team had, the jury might still be out on his bona fides as an NHL coach.Brad Shaw, 60, and Todd Nelson, 55, (and Sorensen) are the only others with head coaching experience in the NHL, and in all cases, it's minimal, and mostly a long time ago (49 games total for Shaw, 51 games for Nelson, and the 56 games this past season that Sorensen was behind the bench for the Blackhawks. He coached them to a 17-30-9 mark). But Nelson has three Calder Cup championships as a head coach in the AHL.With Carle turning them down, perhaps Pandolfo, another premium NCAA coach with plenty of success at Boston University, might be interested. He's taken the Terriers to the Frozen Four in each of the last three seasons. He has also been an assistant (also in Boston) at the NHL level, as have Sturm and Leach. It'll be intriguing to see what direction Chicago chooses to go, whether it be a younger, more promising candidate who can develop along with the young Hawks team, or an older, more grizzled candidate. Photo: © Matt Marton-Imagn Images...

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