The Chicago Blackhawks have struggled through a rough season and it could cost head coach Joel Quenneville his job.
“There’s going to be a lot of speculation once the season ends about a few teams contemplating coaching changes, but none more intriguing than the Chicago Blackhawks and Joel Quenneville’s future,” said Sportsnet insider Nick Kypreos on Saturday during the Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada.
“It’s no secret in our industry that [general manager] Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville don’t have the healthiest of relationships.”
Kypreos suggested the relationship “bottomed out” during the NHL draft last year, when Quenneville was late to find out that his team had traded forward Artemi Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a package that included Brandon Saad.
“A lot of people are looking at president John McDonough to address this once and for all,” said Kypreos. “What that means is maybe some hard decisions.”
Quenneville has two years and $12 million left on his contract, according to fellow insider Elliotte Friedman.
The 59-year-old Quenneville has led the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup championships in the past eight years. He took over as head coach during the 2008-09 season.
The Blackhawks currently sit last place in the Central Division and won’t reach the playoffs this season, marking the first time that has occurred under Quenneville’s watch.
[relatedlinks]
