Foligno Sounds Off: Blackhawks Veteran Backs Fans Frustration Amid Disastrous Season

The Chicago Blackhawks are in serious danger of once again challenging for the first overall selection in the NHL Draft Lottery. While that may sound like good news for some, it’s not the way that the team envisioned their season going.

After another slow start, the team fired coach Luke Richardson and replaced him with Rockford Ice Hogs coach Anders Sorenson. The move hasn’t resulted in better fortune for the Blackhawks, who are at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 13-25-2 record.

Captain Nick Foligno, who dropped the gloves against St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn in the Winter Classic on New Year’s Eve, recently stated that he sympathizes with frustrated Blackhawks fans while assuring them the players are even more frustrated than they are, via X.

“I’m sure it’s frustrating for the fan base because whatever they feel, it’s a thousand times worse for us,” he said. “We are the ones getting out there, we know we want to put a great product on the ice and it’s not gonna be this perfect climb. It’s gonna have these peaks and valleys, and right now we’re obviously in a little bit of a valley, but I think the greatest picture is you gotta hold onto hope and that’s where we have to get back to.”

In fact, Foligno was seen during practice on Tuesday fielding the frustration from teammate Jason Dickinson.

The Blackhawks next hit the ice on Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche at United Center.

The Blackhawks were called out by coach Anders Sorenson after their loss to the Rangers

Following the Blackhawks’ recent 6-2 loss to the struggling New York Rangers, Chicago coach Anders Sorenson called them out publicly.

“Today, it was evident the puck management” was to blame, Blackhawks interim coach Anders Sorensen said. “We were off to a good start and then our puck management was not good at all. Unacceptable.

“Then we get stuck in our own zone because we’re tired and we can’t get out. Nothing good comes out of that.”

“Decision-making, the turnovers and icings,” Sorensen continued when describing what went wrong. “Those things hurt (against) a good faceoff team on the other side and we’ve been struggling with faceoffs.”

Sorenson is the first Swedish coach in NHL history.