After parting ways from former Head Coach Bob Boughner, the Florida Panthers acted quickly and found themselves their new bench boss.
On, Monday, Apr. 8 at roughly 8 A.M., the Florida Panthers announced that they named Joel Quenneville as their new head coach.
Quenneville, who’s 60-years-old, has been coaching in the NHL for over twenty years, experiencing coaching stints with the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and, most famously, the Chicago Blackhawks.
With the Blackhawks, Quenneville spent eleven seasons behind their bench (2008-09 to 2018-19), leading the club to three Stanley Cup victories (2010, 2013, and 2015), while owning a grand record of 452-249-96 in 797 games as head coach.
During the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Hawks, Quenneville owned a 76-52 record over 128 games. Throughout his entire career to date in the postseason, Quenneville’s record sits at 118-97 over 215 games.
As head coach of the St. Louis Blues (1996-97 to 2003-04), Quenneville was awarded the Jack Adams Award in 1999-00 for displaying the most success with the Blues that year, leading them to the President’s Trophy with a 51-19-11-1 record.
Panthers GM Dale Tallon, who has a fantastic working relationship with Quenneville which dates back to their Chicago days, had this to say about the hiring:
"“Joel is a three-time Stanley Cup champion head coach who will be a transformative leader for the Florida Panthers franchise. 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.”"
After missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season, the Panthers are unquestionably disappointed with their efforts, as evident by their recent firing of former HC Bob Boughner.
Dale Tallon realizes that at this current state, the Florida Panthers must be in win-now mode. The hiring of Joel Quenneville brings them one step closer to reaching their ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup one day.
Joel Quenneville brings loads of experience, a winning mentality, as well as a winning system to South Florida to help jumpstart the Panthers’ chances of making the postseason next year.
Dream big as they say, because good things come in result! Whether you can believe it or not or are still mesmerized and in complete shock, the Florida Panthers hired Joel Quenneville and he will be your new head coach to start the season.