Former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville has accepted the coaching position with the Anaheim Ducks, according to multiple reports.
The news comes approximately 10 months after Quenneville was reinstated by the NHL, ending his suspension over his alleged mishandling of assault allegations made by former Blackhawks player Kyle Beach.
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WATCH HEREAccording to ESPN's Emily Kaplan, the Ducks did an "extensive search" into Quenneville's actions after those allegations, and determined that he had "put in necessary work to learn from those mistakes."
According to TSN and ESPN, Quenneville will take over an Anaheim squad that has missed the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons and hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016-17 season.
Quenneville has coached four different teams during his NHL career, posting a record of 969-572-77-150 in 1,768 career games.
That run includes winning three Stanley Cup championships with the Blackhawks, as he helped turn the team into a short-lived dynasty in the early 2010s.
While Quenneville’s tenure with the Blackhawks ended in the 2018-19 season, his career was halted in 2021 upon release of a report by Jenner & Block, who conducted an investigation into the team’s handling of the sexual assault allegations levied by Beach against former video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Chicago Blackhawks
It was alleged that Aldrich had sexually assaulted Beach, and that the former Blackhawks prospect had informed team management of the allegations.
The report found that Quenneville, along with several other executives including former President of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman and former assistant GM Al MacIssac, had met during the playoffs, and no action was taken in regards to the allegations, with Aldrich allowed to continue coaching.
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SIGN UP Quenneville resigned his position as head coach of the Florida Panthers in 2021 following the release of the report, with Bowman and MacIssac also resigning their posts with the Blackhawks. All three men were suspended indefinitely by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. The NHL also fined the Blackhawks $2 million in the case.
Bettman lifted that suspension in July 2024, and Bowman was later hired as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers.
Quenneville currently ranks second all-time in NHL history with his 969 coaching wins, trailing only legendary coach Scotty Bowman, who amassed 1,244 wins in his career.
