Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson can finally be evaluated based on results this season

This season, for the first time, Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson will be coaching to win rather than coaching to coach.

That means Richardson can and will be equitably evaluated based on whether he wins or not — in other words, based on record.

That certainly wasn’t the case during his first two seasons. The 55-year-old first-time NHL boss did exactly what general manager Kyle Davidson hired him to do — boost morale, develop prospects and maintain some semblance of competitiveness — but he still recorded one of the worst winning percentages in league history because of the terrible roster Davidson provided him.

None of those items have been removed from Richardson’s job responsibilities now, of course. The prospect development part, in particular, remains very important — and will only become more so in the years ahead, when the Hawks’ prospect wave reaches the NHL level en masse.

But a new item — winning, or at least winning enough to keep the Hawks out of the league basement and build an internal culture that doesn’t tolerate losing — has been added to the list.

Finally, Richardson has at his disposal a relatively competent and logically formed NHL roster. That includes one offensive star who now understands the league (Connor Bedard), one official captain (Nick Foligno), two top-pairing-caliber defensemen with chemistry together (Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic), two reliable goalies (Petr Mrazek and Laurent Brossoit) and a wide array of freshly assembled depth.

There are still some holes. The Hawks have no second offensive star, arguably no second-pairing-caliber defensemen (Alec Martinez and T.J. Brodie would be better-suited as third-pairing anchors) and no roster continuity; most of their guys have little to no prior experience playing together. Nonetheless, this is by far the most talented group Davidson has given Richardson.

Would Richardson deserve criticism if the Hawks fail to make the playoffs this season? No, he wouldn’t; nobody should reasonably expect that much improvement.

Would Richardson, however, deserve criticism if the Hawks finish bottom-three in the NHL standings again? Yes, he would, and that’s where the difference lies. Expectations aren’t high this season, but they do exist for the first time in his tenure.

The Hawks repeating one of the win totals from Richardson’s first two seasons — 26 and 23 wins, respectively — would represent a major failure, and the Hawks failing to eclipse the 30-win threshold would be disappointing. Another miserable slog like that would finally turn up the temperature on Richardson’s seat, calling into question his ability to succeed at this level.

On the other hand, a 32-win season or something along those lines — one in which the Hawks play meaningful games after New Year's Eve, potentially even hanging around the outskirts of the playoff race — would be impressive.

That best-case outcome would validate Davidson’s faith in Richardson and cement the latter’s status as the Hawks’ coach of not just the present but also the future.

Working in Richardson’s favor are all of the positive traits he has demonstrated already, even during those two loss-laden seasons.

He’s both well-liked and respected by his players, he knows how to provide the right mix of supportive and constructive feedback and he’s equally comfortable adjusting his own systems and behaviors based on results and player feedback. His understanding of the human side of coaching appears to be world-class.

Now it’s time for Richardson to prove his on-ice systems and roster and game management skills are equally stellar. The standard is extremely high in this league, and he will have to outsmart and outmaneuver veteran NHL coaches in order for the Hawks to punch above their weight and differentiate themselves from teams such as the Sharks and Ducks.

Whether or not he succeeds with that will be quantified, at last, by the Hawks’ win-loss record.