MUST LISTEN: Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton mercilessly booed by fans
Well, the Blackhawks fans made their thoughts clear.
Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton is more than likely on the hot seat thanks to his team's woeful start to the 2021-22 NHL Season.
Not only that, but he's also feeling the heat from the fans, as demonstrated on Tuesday night's home opener against the New York Islanders at United Center.
During pre-game introductions, Colliton was heavily booed by the fans when his name was announced:
His team may have done enough through the first two periods of play to help mitigate those concerns, outplaying their guests and outshooting them by a wide margin. But a third period breakdown that saw the Islanders put three pucks past Marc-Andre Fleury and add another into the empty net sealed their fate, a 4-1 loss that dropped their record to 0-3-1.
Of course, Colliton is familiar with the expectations of the fans, which have not been met in recent years.
“They want to win,” Colliton said of the fans. “They have a lot of pride, and they want to have success."
‘‘It was a really good response in the first two periods in particular and parts of the third, as well. When you don’t get rewarded for it, it’s tough.”
Prior to his elevation to the Blackhawks job, he compiled a 40-28-4-4 record along with a deep postseason run with the American Hockey League affiliate Rockford IceHogs. But a lack of success since his entrance into the NHL has many wondering if management will soon pull the plug the way that they did on Denis Savard just a handful of games into the 2008-09 season, and subsequently Joel Quenneville in 2018-19.
Of course, not unexpectedly, Chicago's official Twitter feed was littered with multiple calls for Colliton's firing following the game.
It remains to be seen what Colliton's ultimate fate in the Windy City will be. But should the Blackhawks continue their rocky start with no visible light at the end of the tunnel, don't be surprised to see a change behind the bench made.
