Denis Savard Parts Ways with the Chicago Blackhawks

After just four games this season, the Chicago Blackhawks have fired Denis Savard and named Joe Quenneville as their new head coach.

The Blackhawks got off to a rough start, as they loss their first two games on the road. They did not record their first win until yesterday when they beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1.

The expectations for this upcoming season were very high as they brought in both Brian Campbell on defense and Cristobal Huet to battle Nikolai Khabibulin for the starting goaltending job. Combined with the tandem of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the Blackhawks and their fans were excited to get the season underway.

The first two road games showed that the Blackhawks were clearly unprepared and seemingly unmotivated to play. They finally showed some life last night as they beat the Coyotes, but it may have been too late to save Savard's job.

Savard compiled a record of 65-67-15 in the three seasons behind the Blackhawks bench. Last season, he had the Blackhawks battling to make the playoffs.

As the front office continues to evaluate the Hawks, General Manager Dale Tallon thought that a change was necessary to create a championship caliber organization.

Quenneville, a pro Scout for the Blackhawks, was quickly hired to take the place of Savard.

Quenneville was an assistant for the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche and won the Stanley Cup with them in 1996. He then accepted his first head coaching position with the St. Louis Blues for the 1996-1997 campaign. He coached there for seven years, where he had a record of 307-191-95, making him the winningest coach in Blues history.  He then coached the Colorado Avalanche for three years.

Quenneville has lead nine of his 11 teams to the postseason. That is where the Blackhawks want to see this team go for many years to come.

I guess Denis Savard did all he could do, but it apparently was not enough to save his job. The coaching change shows the Blackhawks and their fans that they are not settling for postseason play, but they want to bring the Stanley Cup home to Chicago.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?