3 destinations for Joel Quenneville if coaching market is explored
By Simon Vacca
As we enter the quarter mark of the 2018-19 campaign, Joel Quenneville remains without a job. Here are three potential landing spots for the veteran coach.
When Joel Quenneville was relieved of his duties by the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, Nov.r 6, 2018, two subjects of examination began to occupy the talk circuit of the hockey world.
First, a debate. Limited in scope, but extensive in substance, some felt that the move had been overdue for a matter of years. Others counter-argued that the veteran pilot — himself the second winningest coach in the history of the NHL — shouldn’t have had to pay the price for the mistakes of his superiors.
Second, a discussion. Would Coach Q be willing to take on yet another position in professional hockey? And if so, where?
Recent reports indicate that Quenneville is readying to coach again, perhaps even as soon as the present season. As such, let’s explore three potential fits for the talented bench boss to entertain.
3. Anaheim Ducks
News of Quenneville’s firing surely meant a few things for administrators across the NHL. Most apparent, in this regard, was a newfound realization: Those who were already under the watchful eye of their superiors were now occupants of an even warmer hot seat — the support mechanisms of which could be pulled at any given moment.
Just take the words of Brian Burke: “He’ll be out of work about 72 hours if he wants to work again right away,” the former GM stated, adding, “If he wants to work tomorrow he will have a job offer by tomorrow.”
Inevitably, the attention of puck lovers became immediately centered on administrators who were all but known to have held their positions for far too long. Case in point: Randy Carlyle.
Currently the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, Carlyle is one of the prime examples of a leader whose time is running out. In the final year of his contract, piloting a team whose window for success is dwindling and failing to cater to GM Bob Murray’s overarching criticism — the need, that is, for the Ducks to play a faster game — it’s tough to imagine a situation in which Carlyle’s position is not on the line. Add the fact that the club currently surrenders approximately 35.7 shots per game, while netting a mere 2.17 goals on a nightly basis, and you have nothing short of a recipe for disaster.
If Murray & Co. are serious about snatching a culture of victory from the jaws of defeat, a shakeup at the top must be ushered forth rather swiftly — if not for the sake of the locker room, then definitely for the sake of the organization’s faithful. Quenneville fits the mold for everything that the Ducks are looking for and more, and the franchise — not yet in a rebuilding phase, but instead in a legitimate position to contend for Lord Stanley’s trophy — may fit his criteria.