The Blackhawks’ Coaching Staff Underperformed in Year One
After firing Luke Richardson in the dog days of the 2024-25 campaign, the Blackhawks led a coaching search that ended in Jeff Blashill’s hiring . With him came some new faces. Michael Peca and Mike Velucci came along to run the special teams.
Anders Sörensen, the previous interim head coach, was retained to coach the defensemen and to keep a familiar face in the room. Jimmy Waite remained as the goaltending coach. More specifically, Peca worked with the penalty kill while Velucci ran the power play.
Both of these coaches also worked closely with the forward group. Sörensen gained plenty of favor for his longtime employment with the Blackhawks and IceHogs coaching staffs. Waite, a former Blackhawks player, has held his position for over a decade and is widely considered one of the best goaltending coaches in the NHL.
Blackhawks assistant coach duties this season: Vellucci and Peca: forwards Vellucci: PP Peca: PK Sorensen: defensemen Waite: goalies More things we learned from my recent talk with Jeff Blashill: https://t. co/rXUr9HvMKm — Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) August 11, 2025 Holding it all together at the top was Blashill, a former longtime Red Wings head coach. After spending some time under Jon Cooper in Tampa Bay, the Blackhawks’ front office saw a cohesive vision between Blashill and the rebuild.
Many questions arose from the quality of the roster, which the fanbase focused on instead of the coaching. Ultimately, great coaches get the best out of their players, and they fell short in their first season as a staff. Power Play Struggles Although the Blackhawks had tons of offensive firepower, the unit severely struggled to capitalize.
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