Interim GM Kyle Davidson, interim coach Derek King address media for first time

The Chicago Blackhawks’ New interim general manager Kyle Davidson and new interim head coach Derek King met with the media for the first time on Sunday afternoon following the team’s morning skate ahead of its Sunday evening game with the Nashville Predators.

Davidson opened with a prepared statement, which Scott Powers of The Athletic shared on Twitter in a 2-minute, 12-second video:

Here’s the money quote from that entire statement:

Davidson also spoke at length about what went into the decision to make the coaching change that occurred on Saturday:

Along with the changes to the on-ice situation with the franchise, Davidson expressed a desire to be part of the off-ice changes within the entire hockey world that have been a necessity for years but are taking on a new level of urgency given the events of the last month within the Blackhawks organization:

King also answered a handful of questions from the media on Sunday, although the biggest development related to him was word from Davidson that King will remain behind the bench for the rest of the 2021-22 season.

Davidson was also asked about a common refrain from Blackhawks fans in the last 24 hours: why wasn’t Marc Crawford promoted to interim head coach?

Wrapping up Davidson’s comments from the press conference, here’s how he answered a question about differences between he and the former team general manager and president of hockey operations:

Via Powers once again, here are a few lengthy answers from King related to his coaching style and any planned changes to the much-maligned Blackhawks systems:

King also explained how he’s going to handle communication with the Blackhawks two most veteran players:

For a text version of another lengthy answer from King, here’s how King described his personality in player interactions:

And, finally, here’s King offering thoughts likely shared by just about everyone at the moment: