 The Blackhawks opened the season with a promising 6–2–2 start despite Crawford's initial absence.However, after losing their next five games, head coach Quenneville (as well as assistant coaches Kevin Dineen and Ulf Samuelsson) were fired on November 6, 2018.Jeremy Colliton, previously the head coach of the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, was named the 38th head coach in franchise history.