The Anaheim Ducks coach, Joel Quenneville, returned to the United Center last Sunday for the first time since he was banned from the NHL in October 2021. The ban came after the handling of an accusation of sexual assault by a former Chicago Blackhawks player in 2010. Quenneville, 67, has had a promising start with the Ducks, with a record of 2-2-1, almost four years after being forced to resign as coach of the Florida Panthers. He was suspended from the NHL for almost three years.
The return of Quenneville marks the end of a long road for the second-winningest coach in NHL history. His 971 career wins, before Sunday’s game, are only surpassed by 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, the first draft pick of 2008, 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 banned from working in 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 am grateful to be back in the game. I am 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 turned out to be moderate and mixed. The announcer Gene Honda named Quenneville in a routine presentation as the visiting team’s coach about 10 minutes before the initial face-off. A handful of fans cheered and about the same number booed, with only about half of the 19,717 United Center seats 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.The memories we had here were all very positive. I’m happy to be back in that building and hear the excited crowd, and the crowds seem to have been good so far this year.
Joel Quenneville
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.Since the day we joined the Ducks, there has been a lot of positivity. Simply interacting with people who are in the game, being close to the organization, having a young team, reminds me of the team when we were here.
Joel Quenneville
