The Florida Panthers were in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks Tuesday night, which meant former Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville was back in the building for the first time since he was fired last season. Quenneville, who is now in his first season as the head coach of the Panthers, received a standing ovation from Chicago faithful.
Quenneville was fired by the Blackhawks on November 6th, 2018. He had a better tenure there than anyone could have imagined, compiling a 452-249-96 record. Even more remarkable was that he won three Stanley Cups, those coming in 2010, 2013, and 2015. Because of this extremely successful tenure, Quenneville was recently named Coach of the Decade.
Back on April 8th, 2019, the Panthers fired then head coach Bob Boughner and announced the hiring of Quenneville. His first season in Florida has been successful to this point, as the offensively gifted team sits third in the Atlantic Division, despite some very shaking goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky.
After the game, Quenneville made sure to say how much the tribute he received meant to him.
“It was special. It was kind of like saying thank you to me and I was thanking them, and it was all good. Felt great.”
Quenneville and his new squad ended up defeating the Blackhawks by a final score of 4-3.
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