SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers have hired Joel Quenneville as their coach.
The Panthers announced the move Monday morning and plan to introduce Quenneville later in the day. Quenneville is second on the NHL’s all-time coaching wins list with 890 victories. He also won three Stanley Cups as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.
The hiring also reunites him with Panthers general manager Dale Tallon, who brought Quenneville to Chicago.
“Joel is a three-time Stanley Cup champion head coach who will be a transformative leader for the Florida Panthers franchise,” said Tallon. “We’ve seized the opportunity to add one of the most successful head coaches in hockey history and we’re thrilled that Joel has agreed to take on the challenge of leading our promising young team. I’ve worked with Joel previously and have seen firsthand how his passion for the game, head coaching experience and leadership can impact an organization. Joel will accelerate our growth into a club that qualifies for the playoffs consistently and competes every year toward our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”
Quenneville replaces Bob Boughner, who was fired Sunday after two seasons.
Quenneville becomes the 16th coach in Florida history, and will be asked to be the coach who ends the team’s playoff drought. Florida has missed 16 of the last 18 postseasons and has not won a playoff series since 1996.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.