Habs win in a shootout! What a game!:-)

It was a great game!!!

Hawks Win! With Knabby in net...go fantasy points:-)

Blackhawks fire Savard after 4 games, hire Quenneville
By Pierre LeBrun
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: October 16, 2008, 12:44 PM ET

The Chicago Blackhawks fired head coach Denis Savard just four games into the season on Thursday, replacing him with NHL coaching veteran Joel Quenneville.



"I'm disappointed but I guess it's the nature of the business," Savard said from his Chicago home Thursday.


"I know I was doing a good job, I'm dedicated to my work. Obviously they felt they had to make a change, so what can you do."

Savard, who was in the last year of his contract, was told he'd been fired Thursday morning by GM Dale Tallon.


"I knew I had to do well this year. We talked this summer and I was aware of that," Savard said.


In a prepared statement, the team said firing Savard -- one of the franchise's greatest players -- was not easy.

"This was an extremely hard day for this organization and for me personally," Tallon said. "Denis is forever a part of our organization. We made a tough decision that we strongly feel is the right one as we continue to evaluate our team and create a championship caliber organization that can sustain success."

Quenneville, according to Tallon, "brings us a wealth of experience and a winning track record that will have an immediate and lasting impact."


Quenneville, who had been working as a scout for the Blackhawks, coached the Colorado Avalanche from 2005 through 2008 and led the St. Louis Blues for seven seasons (1996-2004). He has a 438-283-118 career record, including a 44-31-7 mark in Colorado last season.



Led by sophomore stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks have high hopes to make it back into the playoffs this season. They lost their first three games before finally winning 4-1 over Phoenix on Wednesday night.

"They promised to bring a Stanley Cup here, and they felt maybe I wasn't their guy. It's very well understood," said Savard.

"The only thing I can say is that last year I thought I did a heck of a job with our young kids," added Savard. "Eight to 10 rookies in our lineup. We had a bit of a slow start this year but I thought the team was on the right track. I guess it goes with the territory. As a coach you're judged on wins and losses."

Savard posted a 65-66-16 record in parts of three seasons as coach of the Blackhawks.

A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player, he had 473 goals and 865 assists in 1,196 career games with the Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning.



ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun covers the NHL. ESPN The Magazine's E.J. Hradek contributed to this report.

That seems a little of an overeaction to me. But, when the pressure is on, I guess you have to win em all or at least most of them.

I had not seen the Savard firing until just now. I am a little stunned.

Ya I didn't see that one coming...

On a side note Fabian Brunnstrom scored hatrick in his NHL debut last night...

"The Swede became the third player in NHL history to score a hat trick in his first game, joining Alex Smart of the Montreal Canadiens (Jan. 14, 1943) and Real Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques (Oct. 10, 1979).Lucky I picked him up for the fantasy pool:-)"

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=2527...=headlines_nhl

Luckily I picked him up in my fantasy pool!:-)

Savard firing seems ridiculous. 4 games into the season? Why not fire him over the summer or give him a chance to succeed?

Totally agree. :-)

Interesting that they hire a guy who was just arrested for drunk driving...good example for all those young guys.

After closer inspection I think this was the plan from the beginning...they weren't just bringing him in as a scout.

Could have been handled with a bit more class, IMHO.

Or hired him before the start of the season...its still confusing to me how a guy with a recent DUI is in charge of running of a team that is so young.

Talk about Social Responsibility

You know, one DUI can be a case of a night of poor judgment...I wouldn't trash a guy's career over it. :-)

I was in no way trashing his career rather I find it interesting that this has been made a bigger deal of. I love hockey but the NHL has a way of sweeping things under the rug if noone gets hurt. To me no punishment for these kinds of offenses makes it seem like the NHL doesn't care unless someone dies.

But I am not sure what you would have the NHL do, Matt...not let him coach again because of one DUI?

Personally I would have a very tough policy on this kind of thing. Suspension without pay(1st offense)...Indefinite suspension(Possible Expulsion) and forfeiture of contract(2nd offense). Everybody in the league would fall under the same disciplinary procedures(President-Stick boy). Like you said everyone gets one chance to make a mistake but the second is another issue.

Queenville hasn't been found guilty yet as far as I know but in the event that he has been my punishment would follow 1st offense guidelines(as I can't find any information as to whether or not he has previous convictions)

I have seen too many people affected by drunk driving..overall there is no justification anyone can use to substantiate the possibility of lose of life that drinking and driving propagates. To me its like looking down the barrel of a loaded gun, its just something I wouldn't do. This is something I feel passionately about...come to think of it I may write a paper on this for my sport policy class. All in All its just my :-) and really what to they matter in the grand scheme of things:-)

I am a big supporter of sober driving, but I am not sure that taking away one's job for a first offense is truly the way to go....just MHO. :-)

Did you take a shot to the head last night time Tom:-):-):-):-) or maybe it was just unclear the way that I wrote things.

1st offense I would have suspension without pay(set amount of games 10, 15 who knows). Not the end of a career just a the NHL taking a firm stance saying this not acceptable.

I like debates especially when they don't involve politics or religion:-)

The games suspension makes sense....maybe 8 games for a first offense, if convicted?

I would have qualms about that, it would shown that the NHL takes the matter seriously.

Back to other impartant matters

HABS FOR STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS