COLUMBUS – The coach’s ideal scenario would be to keep his job as of the end of the 2021–2022 campaign.
But that doesn’t mean Derek King’s time with the Blackhawks is over just because he didn’t get the job as permanent head coach. In fact, the player who was given the full-time position earlier this summer will have him on the bench for the upcoming season.
King will be one of the new head coach Luke Richardson’s two assistant coaches, along with Kevin Dean, the Blackhawks announced on Monday. He’ll be back, and so will goaltending coach Jimmy Waite and video coach Matt Meacham, so the team will still have some familiar faces in 2022–2023.
Richardson said in a statement issued by the team: “It’s great to have this experienced staff with me behind the bench. “Derek has had a positive impact on this company, and I’m thrilled to have a colleague like him. We will benefit from Kevin’s game sense and defensive focus. It’s wonderful that the foundation of this coaching group has been completed, and we will keep adding a few pieces.
Since joining the organization in 2016 as an assistant coach for the Rockford IceHogs, the team’s AHL affiliate, King has been a part of the group. When Jeremy Colliton was promoted to lead the Blackhawks as head coach in November 2018, he was appointed as the team’s interim head coach. King was appointed the permanent head coach following that campaign, and he held that position until Colliton was replaced in Chicago.
King, who assumed control on November 6, 2021, finished with a record of 27-33-10 and was a candidate for the permanent position before Richardson was chosen.
Dean joins the Chicago Bears after serving as an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins for five years. He participated in the 2000–2001 Blackhawks season.
