The Chicago Blackhawks named Denis Savard the 36th Head Coach in the team?s history and relieved Trent Yawney of his duties. ?"The bottom line is wins and losses and we needed to win more,? said Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon. ?We've had some injuries, but in spite of that we're a better team than our record shows. We've won three of our last 15 games and we decided to go in a different direction. We want to play a more up-tempo style game.? ?"We're not happy over the last few years as far as our win-loss record is concerned. The players have to share that responsibility. But we're looking to move forward and go in a new direction,? said new Blackhawks Head Coach Denis Savard ?I've always wanted to be a head coach. The circumstances are not the greatest because when you take over for somebody mid-season it means things did not go as well as we all expected. I'm looking forward to working with Mark Hardy and upper management as we move forward in this new direction.? Denis Savard joined the Blackhawks coaching staff as an assistant coach under Craig Hartsburg, on December 3, 1997. Savard began the 1997-98 season as the Blackhawks' Developmental Coach.