The Florida Panthers announced on Monday morning that they have hired Joel Quenneville to be their new head coach. This news comes only a day after the team announced that they had relieved coach Bob Boughner of his duties.
Source says Quenneville's deal in Florida worth north of $30 million over five years depending on bonuses. So $6 million plus a year. He was making $6 million a year in Chicago in his old deal. Tells you how aggressive/committed the Panthers are at making this off-season count.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 8, 2019
Quenneville was let go from the Chicago Blackhawks in November of 2018. He is still due to be paid $6 million from the Blackhawks in the upcoming year, but the Hawks gave permission to teams to talk with Coach Q about the upcoming season. The Panthers were given the opportunity to speak to Quenneville on Friday.
Things in Florida have move quickly since Panthers asked for permission to talk to Quenneville on Friday. Announcement of his hiring could happen as early as tomorrow.
— John Shannon (@JSportsnet) April 7, 2019
Quenneville was the second-winningest head coach in NHL history, with a record with the Blackhawks of 452-249-96 in the regular season, 76-52 in the postseason, and a total of three Stanley Cups for the franchise. He also won the Jack Adams award with the St. Louis Blues in the 1999-2000 season, when the team won the President’s Trophy with a 51-19-11-1 record.
There’s also a chance Coach Q won’t be the only new addition after Bob Boughner’s firing. Sunday afternoon, Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post noted that former Islanders general manager Garth Snow could also find his way down to Florida.
Just heard that Joel Quenneville is a done deal in Florida, announcement coming tomorrow. Also a chance that Garth Snow makes his way down there in some capacity. Fluid situation. #Isles #FlaPanthers
— Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) April 7, 2019
And the move could signal the Panthers intent is during free agency. Artemi Panarin, who the Blackhawks traded to Columbus in exchange for Brandon Saad, is an unrestricted free agent this off-season. Coach Q was a big Bread Man fan during his days in Chicago.
Joel Quenneville on Artemi Panarin: "Certain players you really appreciate the privilege to coach and Bread Man was one of those guys."
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 8, 2017
More from the Panthers:
SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Dale Tallon announced today that the team has named Joel Quenneville as head coach of the Panthers.
“Joel is a three-time Stanley Cup champion head coach who will be a transformative leader for the Florida Panthers franchise,” said Tallon. “We’ve seized the opportunity to add one of the most successful head coaches in hockey history and we’re thrilled that Joel has agreed to take on the challenge of leading our promising young team. I’ve worked with Joel previously and have seen firsthand how his passion for the game, head coaching experience and leadership can impact an organization. Joel will accelerate our growth into a club that qualifies for the playoffs consistently and competes every year toward our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”
Quenneville, 60, has over 20 years of NHL head coaching experience with the St. Louis Blues (1996-97 to 2003-04), Colorado Avalanche (2005-06 to 2007-08) and Chicago Blackhawks (2008-09 to 2018-19) organizations. A native of Windsor, Ontario, Quenneville owns an 890-532-77-137 record as a head coach in the NHL. His 890 regular season wins as an NHL head coach are the second most in NHL history.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Quenneville has amassed a 118-97 record over 215 postseason contests as head coach. Quenneville guided the team that Tallon helped construct in Chicago to Stanley Cup victories in 2010, 2013 and 2015 during a historic 10-year run with the Blackhawks and is one of only 11 head coaches in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup on three occasions. In the salary cap era, Quenneville is the only NHL head coach to win the Stanley Cup three times.
The recipient of the 1999-00 Jack Adams Award for the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success, Quenneville helped lead the St. Louis Blues to the President’s Trophy with a 51-19-11-1 record. He was named a head coach in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game.
Prior to his head coaching career, Quenneville served as an assistant coach for the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche (1994-96), winning the 1996 Stanley Cup.
Selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round (21st overall) of the 1978 NHL Draft, Quenneville appeared in 803 career NHL regular season games, recording 190 points (54-136-190) with Toronto (1978-79 to 1979-80), the Colorado Rockies (1979-80 to 1981-82), New Jersey Devils (1982-83), Hartford Whalers (1983-84 to 1989-90) and Washington Capitals (1990-91).
Quenneville has been married to his wife Elizabeth since 1988 and has three children Anna, Lily and Dylan.
The new head coach of the Panthers, Quenneville, will be introduced at a media press conference on Monday at 12:00 P.M. in the Chairman’s Club at BB&T Center.
Headline photo: Florida Panthers
