Blackhawks sign Colliton to 2-year extension

The Chicago Blackhawks inked head coach Jeremy Colliton to a two-year extension through 2022-23, the club announced Tuesday.

Colliton is entering the final year of his original contract.

The former New York Islanders forward, who turns 36 on Wednesday, is the NHL's youngest bench boss. He guided Chicago to an unexpected series victory over the Edmonton Oilers in August's qualifying round. The Blackhawks hired him to replace Joel Quenneville - who led the club to three championships - in November 2018.

Chicago missed the playoffs during Colliton's first campaign behind the bench in 2018-19. The team went 30-28-9 after he took over midseason, then it posted a 32-30-8 record to reach the qualifying stage in 2019-20.

The Blackhawks won their best-of-five matchup with the Oilers in four games before the Vegas Golden Knights ended their best-of-seven first-round series against Chicago in five.

Chicago committed to a rebuild in October, issuing a letter to fans to explain the departures of popular franchise fixtures Corey Crawford and Brandon Saad.

The Blackhawks enter this season without captain Jonathan Toews (out indefinitely due to an illness), up-and-coming center Kirby Dach (out four-to-five months with a broken wrist), and 22-year-old forward Alex Nylander, who was ruled out four-to-six months following knee surgery in late December.