Ducks hire Joel Quenneville: Former Blackhawks, Panthers coach gets first NHL job since resignation in 2021

Quenneville was ineligible to coach in the NHL for three years after an investigation into the 2010 Blackhawks

The Anaheim Ducks have hired Joel Quenneville as their next coach, the team announced on Thursday. This is Quenneville's first NHL job since he resigned from the Florida Panthers in 2021 as result of an investigation to the Chicago Blackhawks' handling of sexual assault allegations made by former player Kyle Beach against video coach Brad Aldrich.

Quenneville, a three-time Stanley Cup champion coach, was just seven games into his third season with the Panthers when he announced his resignation in October 2021. At the time, an independent investigation determined that Quenneville and the rest of the Blackhawks organization had an inadequate response to the allegations brought forth by Beach in 2010.

Beach accused Aldrich of using his authority as the video coach to sexually assault him during the Blackhawks' 2010 Stanley Cup run. A subsequent investigation determined that the Blackhawks, including Quenneville, failed to properly address the allegations with the Stanley Cup Final about to start.

Following that investigation, Quenneville, former Chicago general manager Stan Bowman and executive Al MacIsaac were ruled ineligible to work for NHL teams. Last summer, all three men were reinstated by the league after showing what commissioner Gary Bettman described as "sincere remorse."

Quenneville will now take over a rebuilding Ducks team, replacing former head coach Greg Cronin. In his 25 years as a head coach with the Panthers, Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues, Quenneville has compiled an overall record of 969-572-77-150.

In addition to his three Stanley Cup wins with the Blackhawks, Quenneville also has three more conference finals appearances and a Jack Adams Award.