In his interview, Toews spoke frankly about Chicago’s moves since the turn of the calendar year, specifically referencing the team’s trades involving Brandon Hagel, Alex DeBrincat, and Kirby Dach. Calling it “unfortunate that it’s come to that,” Toews especially named Dach as a player he felt he had under his wing and had developed a good mentor relationship with.

On a more positive note for Toews and Blackhawks fans, he spoke highly of the team’s expected approach under new head coach Luke Richardson. If he isn’t approached about a trade prior to the season (he does still have a full no-movement clause), he said he’s “really excited” to play under Richardson and his hard-working approach.

Regardless, this is a significant crossroads for Toews and the Blackhawks organization. Considering his declining production and recent health issues, it could very well be that this is simply Toews’ last season playing in the NHL. Toews had just 37 points in 71 games last season, and even his half-retained cap hit of $5.25MM might be too hard to stomach for most interested teams. If Toews plans to either retire or sign elsewhere in free agency, Chicago risks ill-affordable poor asset management by not getting potential trade value in return for Toews.

With that said, it’s nearly impossible to predict when Toews’ trade value would be highest. Does Chicago bank on Toews having a rebound year, allowing them to get a higher return closer to the trade deadline, or do they trade him prior to the season in anticipation of declining value? It’s a delicate, tricky situation as all parties are concerned.

Goaltending coach Jimmy Waite and video coach Matt Meacham have been retained in their previous roles.

King, who had been the head coach of the Rockford IceHogs when he took over from the fired Jeremy Colliton, will still receive something of a promotion by joining the NHL bench. In 70 games as head coach, he stabilized the reeling Blackhawks and led them to a respectable 27-33-10 record. While that isn’t nearly good enough to put them in playoff contention, it’s a much better finish than many expected after the team’s 1-9-2 start, earning King some respect and an interview for the full-time job this summer.

Dean, meanwhile, comes over from the Boston Bruins, where he had served on Bruce Cassidy’s staff since 2017. With experience as a head coach at both the AHL and ECHL levels and a knack for helping young defensemen, he’ll add another quality coach to Richardson’s staff.

With the Blackhawks going through a complete rebuild, the coaching staff they have put together seems geared toward development more than anything else. That’s going to be important moving forward, though they may need to suffer through at least a few years of poor on-ice results.