Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville

The Chicago Blackhawks fired coach Joel Quenneville on Tuesday.

Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks, was the oldest coach in the NHL. He was with the team since 2008.

Chicago has named its new coach Jeremy Colliton, the AHL. Colliton, 33, becomes the youngest NHL head coach.

The owner, Rocky Wirtz, announced in a statement that the team had separated from Quenneville, 60, with his "full support".

"As noted by Chicago Blackhawks fans over the past decade, this organization is more reluctant to make difficult or emotionally based decisions," Wirtz said. "These days are very old." Of course, Joel's was tough as he should have been. During his tenure as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, Joel offered the city of Chicago and his fans three Stanley Cups and an incredible hockey season. "

Last season, the Chicago Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the first time in ten years. They were deprived of goaltender Corey Crawford for most of the season. Crawford returned in 2018-2019, but the Blackhawks are 6-6-3, the second worst performance of the Central Division. After a quick start, they only took one of 10 possible points.

The Blackhawks also fired assistant coaches Kevin Dineen and Ulf Samuelsson. Barry Smith, 66, has been named assistant coach of Colliton staff.

"It's definitely a very difficult decision," said General Manager Stan Bowman in a statement. "But I think it's in the best interest of the Blackhawks organization, we need to maximize every opportunity, keeping in mind our playoff goals and creating growth and development." Continued throughout our team at the same time.After long deliberation, while respecting what Joel meant to the Blackhawks, we knew we had to change.In addition to our appreciation for everything Joel has accomplished for our franchise, we also thank Kevin and Ulf for their many contributions and wish them much success in the future. "

Last season, the NHL did not change coaches for the first time since the Original Six expansion. The departure of Quenneville marks the second shot of the Blackhawks in a week. The Los Angeles Kings fired coach John Stevens this weekend to replace Willie Desjardins.

Collecting was in his second season as head coach of Rockford Ice Hogs, the main affiliate of the Blackhawks. Rockford went to its very first final of the Western Conference of the AHL last season.

Prior to joining the Blackhawks organization, Colliton spent four seasons as head coach of Mora IK in Sweden (HockeyAllsvenskan).

The selection was a second-round selection (58th overall) of the New York Islanders in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He has played 57 games in the NHL over the past five seasons with the Islanders, scoring three goals and three assists.