Pierre Lebrun Says That He Expects The Blackhawks To Extend Jeremy Colliton...Wait, What?

So this headline was sent to me probably a dozen times. Pierre Lebrun of The Athletic had this little nugget of information tucked into 1000 word article about Wayne Simmonds. 

I don’t believe there have been any conversations yet on the contract front, the Hawks priority right now is readying themselves for the Oct. 6-7 draft and potential roster changes. But I do expect the Blackhawks to explore extending Colliton before next season begins.

I like Pierre Lebrun. He's one of the most trusted guys in hockey media. With Uncle Bob stepping into a reduced role you could argue that Pierre Lebrun is at the top of the list for hockey media. This quote though…I don't know what he's doing. He hasn't heard anything, but he expects them to explore a contract negotiation which is based on…nothing. If they haven't had conversations with each other then they haven't had conversations with Lebrun and this is just a throw away comment that got the natives restless. In the words of the great Dannyboy Cane, it's garbage, it's rubbish, and it's not true. 

Colliton signed a three year deal when he took over as coach of the Blackhawks. in November of 2018. He is entering his third year. It would under normal circumstances be time to enter contract negotiations. Having said that, Young Jeremy has a record of 62-75 if you count overtime losses as losses which I do because they are. When Colliton was hired the management group said that it was to take advantage of every playoff opportunity. They sat there and said Young Jeremy was a better coach to get the team to the playoffs. Everyone gave him a pass for 2018-19 with Crawford out and the team in turmoil. 2019-20 was a disaster until it was saved by an international crisis and the team had two good weeks in a bubble. That shouldn't be used to hide the fact that he led the team to a last place finish. 

This blog is really just to address Lebrun's comments which feel very premature judging by his own words. The Blackhawks shouldn't retain Colliton for next year. Definitely hasn't earned an extension. Maybe he will earn it some day. I would love that because it means that the team is doing well and the veteran guys have come to respect him. Same goes for Stan. Nobody wants me to be wrong about him more than I do. I just don't think I am. All this talk about autonomy for Stan and extensions for Jeremy seem insane so I am going to dismiss these rumors as that. Please refrain from sending me nonsense. Thank you.