Joel Quenneville Returns to the United Center After Suspension
The Anaheim Ducks coach, Joel Quenneville, made his return to the United Center on Sunday night. This was the first time he set foot on the court since he was suspended from the NHL in October 2021, due to his handling of a sexual assault accusation against a former Chicago Blackhawks player in 2010. Quenneville, 67, has had a 2-2-1 start to the season with the Ducks, nearly four years after his resignation as coach of the Florida Panthers. He was suspended from the NHL for almost three years.Quenneville’s career has been long, being the second coach with the most wins in NHL history. His 971 career wins put him behind Scotty Bowman’s 1,244. An independent investigation commissioned by the Blackhawks led to Quenneville leaving his position with the Panthers in October 2021. The investigation concluded that the team mishandled the accusations raised by Kyle Beach, a 2008 first-round pick, against video coach Brad Aldrich during the Blackhawks’ first run for the Stanley Cup. Former Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman and assistant general manager Al MacIsaac also resigned and were suspended by the NHL. They were reinstated by the league in July 2024. Bowman became general manager of the Edmonton Oilers three weeks later. The Ducks hired Quenneville in May to replace Greg Cronin. Quenneville has spent 25 seasons in the NHL behind the benches of St. Louis, Colorado, Chicago, and Florida. He coached the Blackhawks for more than 10 years and led them to championships in 2010, 2013, and 2015. The Blackhawks fired Quenneville in November 2018 after a 6-6-3 start. He joined the Panthers for the 2019-20 season. Quenneville returned to the United Center for the first time with Florida in January 2020 and received a video tribute from the Blackhawks and a standing ovation from the fans. He was on the Panthers’ bench at the stadium four times during the 2020-21 season, which was shortened by COVID, but there were no fans present. Quenneville seemed a little unsure about how he would be received by the United Center faithful this time.“I’m grateful to be back in the game,” Quenneville said before Chicago’s 2-1 victory, with a goal by Ryan Donato in overtime. “I’m excited to be back here in Chicago.”
Joel Quenneville
When asked if he expected recognition from the fans, Quenneville responded with his signature, “We’ll see.” The reaction was moderate and mixed. The announcer Gene Honda named Quenneville in a routine presentation as the visiting team’s coach about 10 minutes before the start. A handful of fans applauded and almost the same number booed, with only half of the 19,717 seats in the United Center occupied. The Ducks conducted background checks and spoke with Beach before hiring Quenneville, who said he has accepted responsibility for his role in not adequately addressing the allegations and has participated in educational activities to deepen his understanding of sexual assault scenarios. “Since the day we joined the Ducks, there has been a lot of positivity,” Quenneville said. “Being with people who are in the game, being in the organization, having a young team, reminds me of the team we had here.” With Anaheim, Quenneville took over a team with the third-longest active playoff streak in the NHL. The Ducks finished sixth in the Pacific Division last season with 35-37-10, after being in the bottom two for the previous four years.“The memories we had here were very positive,” he said. “I’m happy to be back in that stadium and hear the excited crowd, and the crowds seem to have been good so far this year.”
Joel Quenneville
