Can they manage to retain half of Murphy's salary at the deadline and move him along for a token draft pick? So many young defensemen who need minutes.

Burning up
Derek Lalonde, Detroit Red Wings
Luke Richardson, Chicago Blackhawks

Meanwhile, the situation in Chicago has caught the attention of the coaching community for several reasons.

Richardson, 55, is in his third season coaching the Blackhawks. According to reports, the first three years were guaranteed, and the Blackhawks have the option for a fourth season.

The Blackhawks are in a deep rebuilding mode, which is why Richardson has a .342 points percentage after 184 games behind the bench. They're slightly better season over season in the standings so far, but near the bottom of the league and nowhere near relevance. That has led to frustration within the Chicago locker room, especially with their franchise savior Connor Bedard.

Bedard, 19, had three goals and 12 assists in 20 games for Chicago. He's openly expressed frustration with his own game, recently saying there were "100 things" he'd like to change about it, but also with the constant losing he has experienced in his first two seasons in the NHL. To get Bedard's confidence back, Richardson recently shifted him to the wing and cast him in a more defensive role.

The way Richardson handled the benching of veteran Taylor Hall raised some eyebrows, admitting that he should have communicated that it was a possibility with the former NHL MVP before making him a healthy scratch.

Through 20 games, the Blackhawks were 30th in offense, but their team defense was in the top half of the league.

Of the internal candidates, only assistant coach Derek King has NHL head-coaching experience, having led the Blackhawks for 70 games in 2021-22 after the firing of Jeremy Colliton.

Again, it's still a considerable rebuild for Chicago, but they did invest in some veteran free agents in the offseason such as Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi. Would it be worth it for GM Kyle Davidson to make a change now, or would this decision wait until the offseason? Or does he have faith that Richardson's commitment to defense will ease some of the headaches about losing, even if it doesn't juice Bedard's scoring stats?

"To me right now, it's more of a 'when' and not an 'if' on Richardson," a coaching source said.

The first big non-Blackhawks specific date on the calendar is this coming Wednesday, Dec. 4 when the full rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off are announced. As of right now, it sounds like the only Blackhawks player who’s a lock to be in the showcase is Teuvo Teräväinen for Finland. We’ll see if Connor Bedard makes it for Canada (he should) and Alex Vlasic makes it for the United States (he should, too).

Quinn Hughes Charlie McAvoy
Jaccob Slavin Adam Fox
Zach Werenski Brock Faber

Quinn Hughes Charlie McAvoy
Jaccob Slavin Adam Fox
Zach Werenski John Carlson
Brock Faber

Quinn Hughes Charlie McAvoy
Jaccob Slavin Adam Fox
Zach Werenski Brock Faber
Jake Sanderson

worst loss of the season. could be a springboard to propel them unto worse performances and results.

shoddy everything. what the fuck was that on columbus' 2nd goal? brodie and crevier did nothing to stop the puck carrier, 1 vs 4. brodie and crevier kept backing off and gave the puck carrier the zone and 6 seconds later, it's 2-1 columbus. sorry. last year, bedard tried that and got his jaw fractured. last year, kaiser got embarrassed by fabbri of the wings and got immediately sent down. you can send crevier down and put brodie in the press box in time for the leaf game. kurashev was out to lunch...mishandled everything, passing off. he's making it easy for coach luke to pick on him and be the whipping boy.

i was for kurashev getting signed and he's turned out to be the moody hockey player that some people feared. the media turns to foligno for answers and he's one of the problems. not his attitude nor work ethic, just his declining skill level and lower endurance.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Richardson was The Next Hot Head Coach for like ten years, it felt. He wasn't in a position to succeed here but he's still been a dud.

They are better this year, no doubt. They aren't getting blown out much and are (mostly) in every game. Hasn't translated into wins, though, even with a more veteran team. Sure, the guys they signed sucked so far this year but is that the fault of the system Robinson is running or is it just that those guys suck? I think it's probably a bit of both.

Trae Young will be a bust. Book It!

I don't think they're better anywhere except in goal maybe. I heard that they are on pace for the lowest scoring output the league has seen in nearly 20 years.

At the end of the day the game is about putting the puck in the net.

I think Richardson will be launched, maybe before the end of the year. I think Davidson expected them to be bad but not this bad.

i'm not exactly sure what parameters kyle set. he did say last year was unacceptable, from all angles. if it becomes obvious the club is spinning it's wheels, messages to players being ignored...etc...i agree with you.

Trae Young will be a bust. Book It!

I don't think they're better anywhere except in goal maybe. I heard that they are on pace for the lowest scoring output the league has seen in nearly 20 years.

At the end of the day the game is about putting the puck in the net.