David Carle, the University of Denver's head coach, has withdrawn from the Chicago Blackhawks' coaching search Saturday.
According to Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada Insider, Elliotte Friedman, the Blackhawks made an "aggressive pursuit" to hire David Carle. Many fans believed that Carle could possibly be the next head coach for the Original Six Franchise.
However, the 35-year-old has taken a different route.
"I think the way coaches are recycled through the NHL is what I don't believe is the best way to have success," said Carle in an interview on Frank Seravalli's Frankly Speaking Podcast on Jan. 10.
"I think having patience, vision, where you're working collectively with a group of people, players, management, coaches, all alike, I think that's the way forward. The NHL is not that right now. Maybe it changes into that, or maybe we can be a part of that change. Until those kinds of possibilities or opportunities present themselves, there's literally zero rush to leave this job and this community and everything that it's meant to me and what we did to help enhance it and how they helped me in my life in a great way as well."
Carle was viewed by many to be the perfect fit as the Blackhawks' head coach considering his track record of developing young players and taking them to the next level. He has won two NCAA titles at Denver, and won back-to-back gold medals with Team USA at the World Juniors.
"I get it. It's an easy chatter thing for people to talk about and gets brought up a lot in recruiting battles, but the same people who said 7-8 years ago, I was too young to coach, are now saying, 'He's not going to be there to coach.' Anyone who speaks on it like they know, they have no idea. It's always good to have the opportunity to clear the air and share, kind of where I stand and my family stands. Being upfront and honest about it is the only way to go about it."
With Carle out of the picture, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson would have to look elsewhere for a developmental coach to lead the roster.
Options to go with could be former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft or maybe stick with Anders Sorensen being the current head coach. Maybe, they could get Boston University Terriers head coach Jay Pandolfo and assign Sorensen back to the Rockford IceHogs to become their head coach again.
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) April 26, 2025
Like Carle, Pandolfo also has experience with being around younger players and helping them grow their game. He served as a development head coach for the Boston Bruins from 2014 to 2016 before becoming an assistant coach of the Bruins in May 2016.
In July 2021, he left the Bruins to join the Terriers as their assistant coach.
On May 5, 2022, Pandolfo was announced the next head coach for the Terriers. He led the team to three Frozen Four appearances but has yet to win a national title.
Whether that's Pandolfo, Woodcroft, Sorensen, or anyone else, the Blackhawks have plenty of options to choose as their official head coach for the start of next season. However, this next decision will be crucial for the Hawks during their rebuild.
