As the Stanley Cup Playoffs are nearing the end, the Chicago Blackhawks coaching search appears to be ramping up a bit, according to the report below from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli:
Coaching updates, per sources:
> #Blackhawks have sought permission to intvw #GoHabsGo Luke Richardson & #Canucks Brad Shaw. Derek King still a strong candidate.
> David Quinn intvw’ing w #LGRW & #Flyers
> #Flyers intvw’d Jeff Blashill, believe Bruce Cassidy also on their list.— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 9, 2022
Luke Richardson, 53, is currently an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens and enjoyed a long, long playing career that started with him being selected No. 7 overall in the 1987 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Richardson played 1,417 regular season games across 21 seasons with six teams, topping out with 436 games in six seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, while notching 35 goals and 166 assists. Richardson was a frequent occupant of the penalty box, totaling 2,055 penalty minutes — 51st all-time.
Since retiring, he’s been an assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders before joining the Canadiens in 2018. Richardson was also the head coach for the Binghamton Senators in the AHL and was the coach for the Eastern Conference’s all-star team in 2012-13 after leading the Senators to the best record in the conference at that all-star break. Because the family ties in hockey are omnipresent, it’s worth mentioning that he’s the uncle of Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun.
Brad Shaw, 58, is an assistant coach for the Vancouver Canucks and also had a lengthy NHL career. Originally a fifth-round pick (86th overall) of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1982 NHL Draft, he played 377 games across 11 seasons with 22 goals and 137 assists. He retired after the 1998-99 season and joined the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant coach but resigned after one season.
He’s bounced between organizations ever since: the IHL’s Detroit Vipers, the AHL’s Springfield Falcons and Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and the NHL’s New York Islanders, St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets before joining the Canucks last summer. Shaw was an NHL head coach with the Islanders, taking over in the 2005-06 season after Steve Stirling was fired, guiding the team to an 18-18-4 finish to the season.