The Florida Panthers wasted little time to find their next head coach, as they made a move less than 24 hours after cutting ties with Bob Boughner. That's because they found a proven commodity to take over their up-and-coming team, hiring Joel Quenneville as their head coach Monday morning. The rumors of this move taking place started just hours after they fired Boughner on Sunday morning, the day after their regular season finale. Quenneville was fired by the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this season after 11 years with the organization. In fact, this is a reunion of sorts for him, as the Panthers' general manager, Dale Tallon, was the one who hired Quenneville to the Blackhawks in 2008.
Quenneville had plenty of success with the Original Six team, winning three Stanley Cups in a six-year span. He now sits second on the NHL's all-time win list, and was a consistent Stanley Cup Playoff threat in the Central Division with Chicago. He was owed $6 million from the Blackhawks in the 2019-2020 season, and he is expected to make a similar amount of money with Florida.
The new Panthers' coach has 890 career wins, only trailing Scotty Bowman for the most in NHL history. He is also just one of 11 coaches in NHL history with three Stanley Cups, all of which came with Chicago. He replaces Boughner, who was fired after just two seasons with the team. They had high expectations in the Atlantic Division this season, but finished in fifth place with 86 points, outside of the playoff picture. Despite another missed postseason opportunity, they did have the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov step up in a big way, as those two are expected to lead the team in to their new era, another one with high hopes, but his time, with a proven coach in Quenneville.
Quenneville had plenty of success with the Original Six team, winning three Stanley Cups in a six-year span. He now sits second on the NHL's all-time win list, and was a consistent Stanley Cup Playoff threat in the Central Division with Chicago. He was owed $6 million from the Blackhawks in the 2019-2020 season, and he is expected to make a similar amount of money with Florida.
The new Panthers' coach has 890 career wins, only trailing Scotty Bowman for the most in NHL history. He is also just one of 11 coaches in NHL history with three Stanley Cups, all of which came with Chicago. He replaces Boughner, who was fired after just two seasons with the team. They had high expectations in the Atlantic Division this season, but finished in fifth place with 86 points, outside of the playoff picture. Despite another missed postseason opportunity, they did have the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov step up in a big way, as those two are expected to lead the team in to their new era, another one with high hopes, but his time, with a proven coach in Quenneville.
