ANAHEIM, Calif. — Joel Quenneville grew to become the second coach in NHL historical past to win 1,000 video games when his Anaheim Ducks rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 on Wednesday night time.
Quenneville joined Scotty Bowman on this unique hockey membership with a milestone win within the Ducks’ first recreation again from the Olympic break. Bowman grew to become the primary coach to succeed in the mark with the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 8, 1997 — only one month after Quenneville coached his first recreation with the St. Louis Blues.
Quenneville’s Ducks received his win in dramatic vogue: Anaheim erased a pair of two-goal deficits and one other third-period deficit earlier than Cutter Gauthier scored the tiebreaking purpose with 1:14 left. When the clock ran out, Quenneville high-fived every of his gamers on the bench earlier than taking the ice to pose for a group photograph.
The 67-year-old Quenneville has made a profitable return to the NHL this season in Anaheim after a four-year absence from the league following his resignation from the Florida Panthers in late 2021 over his inaction through the Chicago Blackhawks‘ sexual abuse scandal 11 years earlier.
Quenneville’s NHL ban was lifted in July 2024, and the Ducks employed him one yr later to take over a struggling franchise with no playoff appearances in seven consecutive seasons. Anaheim (31-23-3) has vaulted into the thick of the Western Conference playoff race in its first season beneath Quenneville, who has led his groups to the playoffs in 20 of the 22 NHL seasons he completed behind a bench.
After enjoying 13 NHL seasons as a sturdy defenseman with the signature bristly mustache he has sported for his complete grownup life, Quenneville has been an NHL head coach for components of 26 seasons. He received three Stanley Cup titles with the Blackhawks throughout a spectacular run of success from 2008 to 2017.
Quenneville reached his 1,000th victory in his 1,825th recreation. Bowman completed his profession in 2002 with 1,244 victories in 2,141 regular-season video games, additionally successful 9 Stanley Cup titles as a coach.
After his enjoying profession resulted in 1992, Quenneville received a Stanley Cup ring as an assistant to Marc Crawford with Colorado in 1996. He received his first head teaching job with St. Louis halfway by the next season, and he led the Blues to seven consecutive playoff appearances earlier than his firing.
Quenneville shortly received the highest job with Colorado in 2004, however lasted simply three seasons regardless of producing two playoff groups. He spent one month as a scout for the Blackhawks earlier than changing Denis Savard behind their bench in 2008, and he led the Original Six franchise to eight straight playoff appearances and three championships — together with the 2010 Stanley Cup, which ended the NHL’s longest lively drought at 59 seasons.
Chicago fired him in November 2018, and he joined the Panthers in April 2019 — however Quenneville’s third season in Florida ended abruptly when the NHL banned him and former Blackhawks executives Stan Bowman and Al MacIsaac “as a result of their inadequate response upon being informed in 2010 of allegations that Blackhawks player Kyle Beach had been assaulted by the club’s video coach,” the league stated.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman decided Quenneville had confirmed regret for his inaction within the allegations that surfaced in the course of Chicago’s run to a Stanley Cup title. Quenneville stated he additionally labored with advocacy teams to check the right methods to guide in such conditions.
Quenneville remained intently centered on the NHL throughout his 4 years away from the bench, watching video games each night time on tv from his residence in Florida and staying in touch with his numerous mates within the recreation. Those mates included Pat Verbeek, his former teammate with the Hartford Whalers and the Ducks’ normal supervisor in the course of a prolonged rebuild.
Verbeek fired Greg Cronin final spring regardless of a 21-point enchancment within the coach’s second season, and he persuaded proprietor Henry Samueli to take the potential danger and the particular public-relations hit of hiring Quenneville. The transfer has labored out splendidly on the ice to this point, with the Ducks dramatically bettering their document with a proficient younger core gaining one other yr of expertise.
Bowman and Quenneville could possibly be joined within the 1,000-win membership by two extra veteran coaches inside the subsequent few seasons.
Paul Maurice, who received the previous two Stanley Cup titles with the Panthers, has 945 profession victories with 5 groups. Lindy Ruff earned his 933rd profession victory Wednesday night time with the Buffalo Sabres‘ 2-1 win over New Jersey.
Both Maurice and Ruff have coached extra NHL video games than Quenneville, and each have sub-.500 profession successful percentages — a quantity which means much less within the period of extra time losses.
