Sinking Blackhawks need more than novice coach

	Denis Savard (right) inherits a motley crew that cost Trent Yawney (left) his job. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
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You're Chicago general manager Dale Tallon and on Nov. 27 you conclude that you have to do something. Your team is in the midst of a dreadful stretch that has seen them win just three of their last 15 games, and the schedule over the next couple of weeks isn't exactly loaded with gimmes. You're two points out of the NHL cellar. You've lost your top three offensive threats -- Martin Havlat, Tuomo Ruutu and Michal Handzus -- for significant stretches and, as a result, your Blackhawks have scored fewer goals than any other team.

The playoffs, if they ever truly were in the picture, are fading faster than Michael Richards' career. And the way things are going, the crowd of 8,008 that the Hawks drew on Oct. 12 is going to look like a packed house compared to the ghost town that the United Center is set to become.

So Tallon, the architect of this work-in-progress, took action. And by "action," I mean "the easy way out." He kicked second-year coach Trent Yawney to the curb, and replaced him with assistant coach Denis Savard.

One step forward...

Hawks fans are sure to be happy with the change in command. They've been calling for Yawney's head for the past few weeks. Of course, many of those same fans were probably fawning over Yawney and his handling of the team when they started the season 4-2.

He looked like a genius back then. But somewhere in the middle of the seventh game -- coincidentally, when Havlat suffered a high ankle sprain -- Yawney misplaced his ability to coach. Or perhaps it was the next night, when Handzus blew out his knee and was lost for the season. Either way, the Hawks went on to lose seven straight and Yawney was exposed as someone who couldn't shepherd a team led by Jeff Hamilton and Michal Holmqvist and Rene Bourque into contention.

Would Yawney have succeeded with a full complement of players? Maybe not. His defensive leanings -- exacerbated by the decimated forward corps -- clearly weren't moving the Hawks in the right direction. So the necktie party wasn't entirely unfair.

But what was Tallon thinking in hiring a virtual novice like Savard to work with this motley crew? What has he done to indicate that he can get more out of these guys than Yawney? A poor man's Wayne Gretzky during his playing days, Savard could soon make The Great One look like Scotty Bowman now that they're both behind the bench.

Promoting a guy who is already on the payroll rather than doing whatever it took to bring in someone with experience is just a typical Chicago move -- penny wise, pound foolish. Count on the new assistant coach that Tallon is promising to come from within the organization as well, rather than a veteran hand capable of smoothing Savard's transition.

When Tallon took on the GM job last season, he inherited a dilapidated franchise that needed a hell of a lot more than some new carpet and a fresh coat of paint. It required renovation from the ground up. He deserves credit for making savvy moves like trading for Havlat, Handzus and Radim Vrbata while dumping energy drains like Kyle Calder and Mark Bell and Tyler Arnason. And as the team moves forward, the two drafts that that Tallon has been a part of could provide a pair of first liners (Jonathan Toews and Jack Skille) and four more solid contributors before long.

All that proves that Tallon has had success when he's thought big. But today, when he had a chance to make an impactful change, he chose the path of least resistance. When this season ends with another lottery pick rather than a post-season berth, he'll have to look back on Nov. 27 as an opportunity lost.