Stan Bowman promised there’d be changes, and today those changes began.
The Chicago Blackhawks have fired longtime assistant coach Mike Kitchen. A member of Joel Quenneville’s staff since 2010, Kitchen spent seven seasons in Chicago, winning two championships along the way.
“We believe this decision is best for our organization moving forward,” said Bowman, the general manager. “Mike had an impact on two different Stanley Cup championship teams during his tenure in Chicago. We appreciate his many contributions and wish he and his family success in the future.”
Kitchen was in charge of the Blackhawks’ penalty kill, which finished 24th after a terrible start to the regular season.
Though the ‘Hawks only surrendered one power-play goal in four losses to the Predators, Quenneville’s staff was bound to change in the wake of such a disappointing postseason performance.
Kitchen's focus was PK & defensemen. The PK was historically bad to start the season, but improved a lot. The D struggled vs #Preds
— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) April 24, 2017
Quenneville’s other assistant, Kevin Dineen, is still on the staff.