Panthers' Quenneville: Returning to Chicago will be 'a special moment'
Aside from a tailgating appearance at a Chicago Bears game that went viral, Joel Quenneville kept a low profile between the time he was fired by the Chicago Blackhawks last November and hired by the Florida Panthers in April.
However, he recently opened up about his decade-long run in the Windy City and admitted that when the NHL schedule was released Tuesday, his return to the United Center on Jan. 21 was "definitely on the radar screen."
"You'll be into the season now, and you're just worried about Florida," he told The Athletic's Mark Lazerus. "You're consumed with hockey and your team and that's your focus. But the memories of 10 tremendous years, that's going to be a special moment. You reflect back and think of everything that we were able to do, and the people you were with, and the fans and the city - you could keep going on and on."
Quenneville led the Blackhawks to the playoffs in each of his first nine seasons in Chicago, winning Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015.
He was relieved of his duties after a 6-6-3 start to the 2018-19 season. Despite the abrupt end to what had been a successful tenure, he felt no ill will toward management for their decision.
"The other times it was bitter," Quenneville said, referring to his previous stops with the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. "This one I can say it wasn't bitter. And I'm sure it had everything to do with the memories and the relationships. ... I can honestly say we moved on, and that's part of the business."
He added: "Our time there was too special, the memories were too great. And that's how we'll leave it."
Quenneville admitted that missing the playoffs in 2017-18 may have led to a shorter leash last season. However, he wouldn't concede that the controversial moves made during the 2017 offseason contributed to the team's struggles.
In the summer of 2017, general manager Stan Bowman traded core players Artemi Panarin and Niklas Hjalmarsson in two separate deals, acquiring Brandon Saad and Connor Murphy in return. Bowman also fired Quenneville's right-hand man, assistant coach Mike Kitchen.
"I was not happy with losing Kitch," he admitted. "And we had a good rapport and a lot of success with Hammer. And knowing the Bread Man's a special guy. But everybody has to make decisions nowadays, and coaches are getting fired on the staff but the head coach is still there. That's more in play than it's been in the past."
The Blackhawks went 30-28-9 last year with Jeremy Colliton behind the bench, missing the playoffs for a second straight season. Quenneville said he didn't watch a single game after he was relieved of his duties.
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