The Chicago Blackhawks aren’t demonstrating much urgency during their eternal rebuild.

Further evidence of their organizational dawdling with the hiring of Jeff Blashill as their next coach. Blashill had been a rising star in the coaching profession . . . under he took over Detroit Red Wings.

The Red Wings reached the playoffs in Blashill’s first season at the helm, in 2015-15, as they kept their competitive window open for one more year.

After that Winged Wheel wobbled to 33-36-13, 30-39-13, 32-40-10, 17-49-5, 19-27-10 and 32-40-10 finishes during the next six seasons under Blashill.

Now he takes over the Blackhawks, who have gone 24-25-7, 28-42-12, 26-49-7, 23-53-6 and 25-46-11 during their last five seasons — despite adding cornerstone center Connor Bedard and several other very high draft picks.

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The Blackhawks burned through four coaches while deliberately stockpiling prospects. Now the leadership falls to Blashill, who spent the last three seasons resetting his career as an assistant under the great Jon Cooper with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I’ve gone through seven years of a hard rebuild in Detroit,” Blashill told reporters. “I know the pain that this group has gone through the last couple years. I also know the pitfalls that are potentially ahead. So, we’ll work like crazy to avoid those pitfalls as we go to lead this team into a better tomorrow.”

By all accounts Blashill is a great guy. He’s had success at every level below the NHL and he worked hard to get another chance to run team at the highest competitive level in the world.

But Tipsheet doesn’t see how this hiring will energize the long-suffering Blackhawks fan base. Fans must be wondering when their franchise will get serious about winning again.

Blashilll has negative experience to draw on, but he also has the successes with the Indiana Ice (USHL), Western Michigan (NCAA) and Grand Rapids (AHL).

So when we will lead the Blackhawks back to relevance?

“I’ll never put a timeline on that; I can’t,” Blashill said. “I have no way of knowing how long or how quick. I didn’t know when I went to Indy if it would take us multiple years; honestly, I didn’t know if I was going to make it to Christmas. That was my first head coaching job, two of my kids were 1 and 3, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But we ended up winning a championship, and we won it faster than people thought we would. I didn’t know when I went to Western how long it would take to get that program back to a level of relevance; in that year, we ended up going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in however (long). I didn’t know when I went to Grand Rapids how long, and we ended up winning a championship and had success after that. You just don’t know for sure.

“I know what it’s going to take, and I know process is the most important piece of that. What I will say is I won’t rush the process for a timeline. I believe in the process. I was able to actually to see a pretty unique (example) in a different sport when I was in Detroit and watched (Lions coach) Dan Campbell, his first year, have very very little success, but I watched him continue and stay strong and build a culture. When you see those types of experiences, it’s a good reminder to you as a coach: You have to make sure you get that culture in place. Once you get that culture in place, the winning takes care of itself.”

Meanwhile, season tickets are on sale!

Here is what folks are writing about hockey:

Mark Spector, Sportsnet: “The Oilers won the final four games against Dallas after dropping Game 1. They won three times in Vegas while speedily disposing of the Golden Knights in five. They hit the gas after a 0-2 start against Los Angeles in Round 1 and won four straight — the start of a 12-2 playoff run that speaks to the distance between this Oilers team and those out West who would try to supplant them. And somehow, it all seemed rather routine. Almost ordinary, as the Oilers’ best game — rolled out night after night this spring — proved too much for whatever opponent was standing on the other blue line for the national anthems.”

Dan Rosen, NHL.com: “The Panthers have 19 skaters with at least one goal this postseason, led by (Sam) Bennett’s 10, and 10 skaters with at least 11 points in what has been an all-in effort. But (Sergei) Bobrovsky is standing on his own in Florida’s net and is the Panthers’ clear frontrunner for the Conn Smythe Trophy, voted as the most valuable player in the playoffs. Bobrovsky is 12-5 with a 2.11 GAA, .912 save percentage and three shutouts and is on pace for a better postseason than he had last year, when he went 16-8 with a 2.32 GAA, .906 save percentage and two shutouts.”

Lauren Theisen, NHL.com: “From the very beginning, when (Aleksander Barkov) was drafted second overall in 2013, the center from Finland was supposed to lead the Panthers to greatness, and it didn’t take long for him to make good on his potential, peaking with a 96-point year in 2018–19 and a 39-goal campaign in 2021–22. In the past three years, as the Panthers made the leap from ‘dangerous’ to ‘lethal,’ Barkov’s contributions have been less about scoring and more about setting up his teammates. With that role, a few injuries, and his gentlemanly nature—especially compared to some of the other Cats—Barkov is perhaps a little less attention-grabbing.”

Sean Gentile, The Athletic: “In the end, though — the real end — we learned the truth, and Aleksander Barkov taught the lesson. ‘Their best player,’ Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said, ‘made an elite play.’ Sebastian Aho is Carolina’s best forward, their first-line center, and their highest-paid player. He’s led his team in scoring in seven of the last eight seasons. And he’s wonderful — creative, responsible, highly skilled, a player you can win with, a player you can build around. The question, though, as ever, is whether that’s enough. The question is whether he’s elite. And it’s a fair one; only so many players — 10, maybe 15 — should get that label. For someone who, in his last two trips to the conference finals, had two goals in 10 games, it’s tough to argue the case.”

Ryan S. Clark, ESPN.com: “Possessing more than $28 million in cap space, per PuckPedia, presents the idea that the Hurricanes could be a major player in free agency. It’s a level of flexibility that championship contenders covet because it’s so hard to attain once they have several members of their core under long-term contracts. That’s a problem the Hurricanes don’t have — at least not yet. They have seven players signed to deals longer than three seasons. It’s a group that includes core members such as Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jaccob Slavin, Andrei Svechnikov, Aho and (Seth) Jarvis. But there are considerations to make given that Jackson Blake, Scott Morrow, Alexander Nikishin and Logan Stankoven are all going to be pending restricted free agents after the 2025-26 season, who will then be in need of new deals. Though there’s a need for the Hurricanes to try to win now, this is also a franchise that has made a point of building large portions of its roster through the draft. Now, the Canes must balance an approach that has allowed them to be a championship contender with one that sees them take the next step, and that will dictate how their front office handles this offseason.”

“Any time you pull a goalie the reasoning is to always try and spark your group. So that’s your No. 1 reason. We had talked endlessly in this series about trying to play with the lead, and obviously, we’re in a 2-0 hole right away. I didn’t take that lightly, and I didn’t blame it all on Jake. But the reality is, if you go back to last year’s playoffs, he’s lost six of seven games to Edmonton.”

Stars coach Pete DeBoer, on pulling goaltender Jake Oettinger with his team on the brink of elimination.

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