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Jeff Blashill's comments after Blackhawks' 3-2 preseason loss to Red Wings raises red flags


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Sam Walker
September 24, 2025  (1:48 PM)
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Head coach Jeff Blashill took on his former Detroit Red Wings team in his unofficial debut with Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, and it didn't turn out too pretty.

The Blackhawks appeared outworked in every single category, and the 2-3 loss was quite surprising, with all credit due to Arvid Soderblom backstopping the struggling roster.
Despite this lackluster performance, Blashill seemed quite happy and not phased.
Keep in mind, this wasn't just a random Blackhawks roster of kids, this was a loaded roster headline by Connor Bedard and several other players who played full-time in the NHL last season, against an almost full roster of Red Wings who have yet to make their NHL debuts.
According to Blashill himself, he's not surprised and appears totally fine with the Blackhawks being dominated in their first preseason matchup against the Red Wings.
«Everything is new, systems are new, and we played like we were thinking. When you think a lot, you play slow. They beat us to pretty much every loose puck,» Blashill said, via Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ben Pope. «It didn't surprise me. I knew we were going to be tired and our systems aren't natural yet. I'm OK with that. That's why we're putting the work in.»

- Jeff Blashill

Jeff Blashill's comments mirror familiar former coaches in the Blackhawks organization

When Blashill was introduced as the newest head coach of the Blackhawks, he stressed the fact that he plans to focus on bringing this organization back into their winning ways.
Which is quite contradictory to his, what seemed to be, 'happiness' after the Blackhawks' main roster group lost to the Red Wings' jam-packed roster of non-NHL-ready talent.
Many may be thinking, Oh, it's just a preseason game.
You are right, but losing cannot be an acceptable standard if this organization is ever hoping to go back to their rich winning ways.
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Jeff Blashill's comments after Blackhawks' 3-2 preseason loss to Red Wings raises red flags

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