Hard Hawk Hockey

Why the quick hook for Savard

While the dust has not quite settled from the surprise firing of Hawks coach Denis Savard, many are wondering about the timing and who was really behind this.  To fire a coach after only 4 games is suspect, as well as replacing him with a former coach who was hired as a scout only two months prior.

Let’s face it, I think we can all agree that Denis Savard was not a bad coach, but not the coach that was going to lead the Hawks to the Stanley Cup.  His methods were often questioned and his lack of systems seemed to be his downfall.  He was accused of not disciplining certain players that needed it, yet being harsh on players who may not have deserved it.  His line combinations were confusing, and his specialty teams were not the best.  This is all easy to say after the fact, and it usually gets to this, however, it was plain as day, that since the end of last season when the Hawks did not make the playoffs that Savard was on thin ice.

The Hawks fell short of a playoff birth last year that could be blamed on injuries, too many rookies, spotty goaltedning, or maybe just not good enough coaching.  Every year teams get injuries, and the good one’s find a way to recover and not use it as an excuse.  Look at Savard’s successor, Joel Quenneville.  His Avalanche saddled with injuries, including Joe Sakic, and yet they found a way to make the playoffs.
Savard’s Hawks went through a stretch last year when Jonathan Toews missed 17 games with an injury where the team basically went into a tailspin and lost their chance of making the playoffs. Yes they did turn things around and make an exciting run, but came up short. That can be attributed to Savard’s downfall.

Other things that appear to be possible factors were his lack of experience. He had only been on the job for 147 games, hardly what you’d call experienced. His use of the roster. While a coach must adapt with the team he is given, not much changed from what the Hawks were doing last year, to this year. Matter of fact this season’s training camp was termed “Flat” by Hawks brass. Apparently that flatness continued into the season. Also, and maybe this was the telling blow. Savard had to be pushed into starting Cristobal Huet in the home opener against Nashville which the Hawks lost in a shootout, even though Nikolai Khabibulin had a pretty solid game in Washington. Then against Phoenix, Savard started Khabibulin, and even though Nik was solid again in victory, rumors abound that Savard was “showing up” Tallon and the rest of the organIzation by not going with Huet.

Savard a proud, proud, icon of Chicago sports has taken this all very well. He has spoken highly of Quenneville and made the city feel good about the incoming coach. The problem here is that Savard was hired by the previous regime. Dollar Bill Wirtz had apparently promised Savard a coaching position when the time came. Loyalty was something that the former Hawks owner was known for. Not that all his decisions were right of course. Bob Pulford was kept around for 30 years, many feeling that it was 25 years too long.

The new management has one thing and one thing only on their minds. Winning. Winning now! With Kane and Toews the new superstars in the making, and free agents Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet, and the Winter Classic being awarded to the franchise this year, management felt that a change must be made. There is too much at risk and a proven coach with a winning record was the only way to get through the season. Savard was just not the guy.

Timing of this though will be argued all season long, and longer if the Hawks don’t make the playoffs.
Why not do this during the summer? Why not before training camp? Now the players will need to learn a new system, after some of them just learned another one. Teams take time to gel, and getting off to a slow start is always tough, but couple that with a coaching change and things can get sticky. It will be interesting to see how the Hawks respond to all this, and I am sure the media will certainly contribute it’s spin. Captain Jonathan Toews called a players only meeting after the announcement, asking that the team does not want to deal with the media until Friday. A show of solidarity amongst the players? Maybe. More likely though a time to say, let’s move forward, let’s not dwell on this, and reaffirm that this management expects this team to be in the playoffs. Losing is not an option.

Savard has spoken highly of Scotty Bowman also, and felt that Scotty was helpful to him in their short time together. Dale Tallon has referred to Savard as “like a brother to me”, yet this could all be the doing of PR specialist John McDonough. In his offseason discussions with McDonough about a contract extension, McDonough told Savard, we reward people for winning. We did not make the playoffs.

Some will think that this is harsh, that this is unsportsmanlike if you will, but fact of the matter is, that the Hawks had become a bit of a forgotten franchise. A laughingstock of the NHL.
McDonough and Rocky Wirtz have made significant moves in the last year that has shown this proud city that “we are serious”. Will this move backfire, or will this move propel the club back to becoming the force in the league they once were?

Time will tell. It all starts tonight with the Hawks playing, ironically the St. Louis Blues.

Thanks for reading.