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Savard Gone In Chicago
by Paul on 10/16/08 at 11:09 AM ET
Comments (9)
Per NHL Live, Denis Savard has been fired as Chicago coach. No replacement named yet, but as E.J. Hradek states, if Bowman takes the job, it will tell you how good Scotty feels the team could be.
Also, Joel Quenneville is within the organization too.
added 12:14pm, Pierre LeBrun at ESPN confirms.
added 12:19pm, Hradek states Bob McKenzie says Quenneville will be named coach.
added 12:21pm, TSN story with Quenneville as the new coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.
added 12:29pm, via the Chicago Blackhawks,
The Chicago Blackhawks have named Joel Quenneville the 37th head coach in franchise history, replacing Denis Savard, who was relieved of his duties earlier on Thursday.
“This was an extremely hard day for this organization and for me personally,” Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon said. “Denis is forever a part of our organization. We made a tough decision that we strongly feel is the right one as we continue to evaluate our team and create a championship caliber organization that can sustain success. Joel brings us a wealth of experience and a winning track record that will have an immediate and lasting impact.”
added 1:01pm, via the Chicago Sun-Times,
“I put our young kids in a position to succeed. I thought we were on the right track.”
“I understand the business,” Savard said. “We made a commitment to our fans, and they’re going for what they think is the best coach available.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Denis+Savard,
Comments
This move has me speechless. Of all the coaches in the league, I couldn’t have ever fathomed that Savard would be the first of the 08-09 campaign to be released.
To me, this is either a panic move, or something happened behind the scenes that we don’t know about.
Either way, terminating Savard at this early point in the season was a mistake..
Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 10/16/08 at 11:40 AM ET
Hmm, I wonder how badly they wanted Savard out. Hiring Quenneville as a “scout” and then tossing Savard after four game? I love the smell of a conspiracy in the morning 
Posted by Shane from Saskatoon on 10/16/08 at 11:48 AM ET
Seems odd that they fire the coach the morning after getting their first win. I wonder if Savard was told not to play Khabibulin? Another slightly weird twist…IIRC, a large part of the reason Quenneville was sent packing from Colorado was that he stuck with Theodore too long vs. the Wings in the playoffs.
Posted by YzermanZetterberg on 10/16/08 at 12:01 PM ET
So Quenneville gets yet ANOTHER chance to be the Red Wing’s whipping boy…
Ridiculous move by the Chicago front office. Tallon should be the one who goes (and he might) and they should put Bowman in as the new GM.
Posted by Animal Drew from A Nightmare on Helm Street on 10/16/08 at 12:30 PM ET
I’m not surprised to see this happen, but the timing is absurd. What does the Chicago front office know today that they didn’t know two weeks or two months ago?
And on another interesting note, one has to wonder about that closed-door meeting that Patrick Kane called recently. Did something come up in there that led to this?
Posted by Forechecker from Nolensville, TN on 10/16/08 at 12:47 PM ET
I think this will be a win-win for all parties. Savard was labeled in Chicago and he would never of made them happy. Quenneville will bring some good coaching experience that the young team needs.
We will see Savard behind the bench again. He wears his heart on his sleeve.
Posted by Chris Nadeau on 10/16/08 at 01:07 PM ET
HTT:
“He’s a good coach, knows the game,
BUT
has a tendency to play his best players to exhaustion,
leaving them vulnerable to injuries.
Look for the Blackhawks quest for the playoffs to be
upset by injuries.”
Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 10/16/08 at 01:52 PM ET
Fire Savard, hire ... wait for it ... Quenneville?!?
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 10/16/08 at 02:25 PM ET
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How “high” are their expectations? This looks like panic move at Game 5….Even Barry Melrose is still employed. I don’t see Chicago as being that good. What’s with the two goalies…Huet is no savior. And Campbell is way overrated…I don’t see Dale Tallon as the next Lou Lam…...Losing to NYR and Washington on the road is not a disgrace. Those are two very good teams. Look what Wasington did to Vancouver….If the Hawks just make the playoffs they should be very happy…Bad move
Posted by kevin from boston on 10/16/08 at 11:36 AM ET