By now the news is probably old but it’s still worth sharing here that multiple media reports over the weekend indicated that the biggest name available as the possible next head coach of the Blackhawks is no longer going be an option, with University of Denver coach David Carle reportedly withdrawing his name from consideration, as reported in the tweet below by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:
Hearing that David Carle has withdrawn from consideration for the Chicago Blackhawks coaching job.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 26, 2025
The Blackhawks definitely made an aggressive pursuit
On his “32 Thoughts” podcast, Friedman said that Carle is probably heading back to Denver, although Friedman did provide the caveat that nothing has been decided yet. If Carle ends up with another NHL gig this offseason, that’s going to be a sizeable indictment of the current Blackhawks’ regime, because an inability to land the biggest name on the coaching market would be another sign that this organization isn’t capable of accomplishing tasks both big and small related to a successful rebuild. But let’s not go down that road just yet.
Instead, we can acknowledge the mild disappointment from the Carle news without abandoning all hope that this rebuild will ultimately succeed in some manner. And, as the saying goes, when one door closes:
NEWS: The Pittsburgh Penguins and head coach Mike Sullivan have parted ways, the team announced. Sullivan's decade-long tenure in Pittsburgh included back-to-back Stanley Cup wins over San Jose and Nashville.
— The Athletic (@theathletic.bsky.social) April 28, 2025 at 8:37 AM
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Pittsburgh parted ways with coach Mike Sullivan on Monday morning and he immediately moves to the top of the list of potential coaching options for the Blackhawks. Scott Powers from The Athletic detailed a few more remaining options over the weekend as well but immediately put Sullivan on top of it once that news dropped.
Sullivan’s departure from Pittsburgh is more about the closing of a championship window with that franchise than any major missteps on Sullivan’s part, and he does have a pair of Stanley Cup championships among his career highlights. That the Penguins stayed somewhat afloat over the last few seasons while injuries and Father Time threatened to destroy the entire operation is a testament to what Sullivan can do behind the bench.
While this next coaching hire may not necessarily decide the ultimate fate of Chicago’s current rebuild, it’s certainly entering a crucial stage. There’s still a plethora of production to be unearthed from Connor Bedard’s talent. Guys like Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic and Sam Rinzel appear to be NHL-level players but will need to continue to takes step forward to maximize the potential they all contain. A wave of prospects including Artyom Levshunov, Kevin Korchinski, Oliver Moore and others have shown flashes of talent but will need more and more guidance along the way to turn them into full-time NHL players as well. And all of those players would benefit from the guidance of an experienced coach with NHL experience like Sullivan. None of this is to say that hiring Sullivan is required for the rebuild to be successful, but it sure seems like Sullivan just became the best option that the Blackhawks have in this moment.
The odds were always stacked against Luke Richardson to be the long-term coach for the Blackhawks rebuild, based on the mountain of historical evidence which suggested that the first bench boss hired at the start of this kind of process is typically not the one who sees it through until its conclusion. The math changes with this hire, though, and it’s possible the Blackhawks could be hiring the coach who’s around for the full development of those prospects detailed above. If this hire doesn’t pan out, though, it’s fair to assume that it’ll be a different general manager searching for the next coach.