The Anaheim Ducks have announced the hiring of former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville as their new head coach.
“Today is a great day for the Anaheim Ducks,” said General Manager Pat Verbeek. “Joel is a proven winner and one of the top coaches in NHL history. We believe this is a major step forward in our process of being a perennial playoff contender.
“Over the last two weeks, we conducted interviews with many outstanding coaching candidates, while simultaneously conducting a comprehensive review of what took place while Joel was head coach of the Blackhawks in 2010. We spoke with dozens of individuals, including advocates for positive change in hockey and leadership of the NHL, which last July officially cleared Joel to seek employment in the league. Our findings are consistent with Joel’s account that he was not fully aware of the severity of what transpired in 2010. It is clear that Joel deeply regrets not following up with more questions at the time, has demonstrated meaningful personal growth and accountability, and has earned the opportunity to return to coaching.”
With 25 years of experience behind the bench, Quenneville’s coaching resume is about as good as they come. He’s the only coach to win 3 Stanley Cups in the salary cap era of the NHL, and has the 2nd most wins in league history at 969, trailing only the legendary Scotty Bowman.
However, it’s not for his lack of hockey acumen that has kept him out of a job for the past several years. Instead, it was his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault case involving former player Kyle Beach. Though Quenneville wasn’t directly linked to the assaults, it was his role in the alleged cover ups that followed which resulted in the full scale overhaul of Chicago’s coaching staff and front office.
“I’m excited to join the Anaheim Ducks,” said Quenneville. “This is the organization I wanted to restart my career with and am truly grateful for this opportunity. The Ducks have incredible ownership, management and passionate fans. In nearly four years away from the game, I have learned from my prior mistakes and realized it will be actions over words that demonstrate my commitment to being a better leader.”
Though he’s been cleared to resume an NHL coaching career by the league’s head office, news of his hiring some 3 plus years later has drawn mixed reviews from fans and executives around the league. Per Darren Dreger, Anaheim is believed to have spoken to Kyle Beach prior to making the hiring official.
Photo: US Embassy Canada. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.