Can Jeff Blashill follow the path of redemption trodden by Mike Sullivan and Bruce Cassidy? | NHL News
New players, new rivalries, and new hopes of revival for the athletes, the franchises, and often the coaches are what each NHL season brings. For Jeff Blashill, returning to a head coaching chair is more than just thinking about systems and line combinations.It is the story of redemption. While others would label him as a recycled name, the bigger question will be whether a coach humbled by some very hard years and some even harder rebuilds can now stand wiser. The league has witnessed such comebacks before—Sullivan, Cassidy, Berube. Can Blashill become the next one?
Jeff Blashill’s second act: from survival mode to a shot at redemption
In professional sports, early failures rarely spell the end. Usually, they mark the beginning of a sharper chapter. Jeff Blashill’s coaching timeline seems to go right along with that. His stint with the Detroit Red Wings was more about survival than achievement. He took the team to the playoffs in his first year, but then survived six years without any playoff hockey while the franchise was going through a big rebuild, a phase where development took precedence over wins above anything else.But removing the spotlight didn’t stop any growth. Assisting for the Tampa Bay Lightning, in an elite cup-contending atmosphere, afforded Blashill a unique perspective. He watched what it demanded to sustain winning day after day but was freed from the burden of forging it himself. Add an earlier AHL title with Grand Rapids into the mix, and you have a coach that has seen just about every facet of confrontational NHL hockey.And there have been such coming of age stories before. Sullivan never won the Cup until the second time around as an NHL head coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins, that was some years after an unremarkable start in Boston. Cassidy had to wait more than a decade between Washington and his Vegas redemption. Berube came into his own after a messy departure from Philadelphia and a midseason rescue of St. Louis.What these journeys all have in common—not just a second opportunity—their coaches adapted with the game, changed their ways, and found out how to relate to the new generation of players. Having coached through adversity, Jeff Blashill is now better prepared to handle a rebuilding franchise with young prospects and a long-term vision.Also Read: Blackhawks to hire Jeff Blashill as head coach; Ryan Donato expected to hit free agencyThis is not about cleaning away the slate for a new beginning. It is about finishing what experience began. Jeff Blashill does not have to prove that he belongs behind an NHL bench- he has to prove that the growth that he has experienced, along with practical application, can now lift one. Redemption arcs, renegotiations with the league, and all that jazz do exist if history is any indicator. It will no longer be a matter of where Blashill has been, but what he learned on the way.
