Joel Quenneville

Hockey career

As a player, Quenneville was drafted 21st overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1978 NHL Entry Draft. He has played for the OHA Windsor Spitfires, AHL New Brunswick Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, AHL Baltimore Skipjacks, Washington Capitals and AHL St. John's Maple Leafs. He has also been a player/assistant coach of St. John's, head coach of the AHL Springfield Indians, and assistant coach of the Quebec Nordiques and Colorado Avalanche. He won the Jack Adams Award with the Blues in the 1999–2000 NHL season.

Quenneville won the Stanley Cup as an assistant coach with the Avalanche in 1996. He then moved to the Blues franchise, becoming head coach midway through the next season after Mike Keenan was fired. He led St. Louis to seven straight playoff berths. His best season was in 1999–2000, when he led the Blues to a franchise-record 51 wins and their first-ever Presidents' Trophy for the league's best regular season record. However, they took an unexpected pratfall in the playoffs, losing to the San Jose Sharks in the first round. In Quenneville's eighth season with the Blues, the team started poorly. Late in the year, St. Louis was in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in a quarter century. As a result, Quenneville was fired.

Quenneville was hired to coach the Avalanche in June 2004, before the 2004–05 NHL lockout resulted in the season's cancellation. In his first year with the Avalanche, he led the team to the playoffs and a first round upset of the Dallas Stars. On March 25, 2007, Quenneville coached his 750th career game. He became one of only seven currently active coaches to reach 750 games as of the 2006–07 season. Quenneville reached his 400th coach win on October 26, 2007, in a 3–2 OT win against the Calgary Flames. On May 9, 2008, the Avalanche announced that Quenneville was leaving the organization. Quenneville was hired as a pro scout by the Chicago Blackhawks in September 2008.

On October 16, 2008, Quenneville was promoted to head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, replacing former Blackhawk Denis Savard. On December 1, 2009, he received his 500th win as a coach in an 11-round shootout battle against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his first two seasons with Chicago, he led the team to the 2009 Western Conference Final and the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. With the Blackhawks' victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in the latter, Quenneville earned his first Stanley Cup as a head coach. On December 18, 2011, he earned his 600th career coaching win, winning 4–2 against the Calgary Flames. Joel earned his second championship as a head coach against the Boston Bruins during the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals, cementing his status as one of a handful of Chicago head coaches with multiple championships (the others are George Halas of the Chicago Bears, Phil Jackson of the Chicago Bulls, and Frank Chance of the Chicago Cubs). On March 19, 2014, Quenneville became just the third head coach in NHL history to record 700 wins. On March 23, 2015 Quenneville reached 750 wins as a coach. His team won the Stanley Cup for the third time on June 15, 2015 in a 2–0 shutout over the Tampa Bay Lightning. This was the first Blackhawks' championship win on home ice since 1938. With his third win, Quenneville became the third coach in Chicago sports history to win three championships, after Halas and Jackson. On January 14, 2016, Quenneville earned his 783rd win, passing Al Arbour for second all-time among NHL coaches. On April 3, 2016, Quenneville earned his 800th win, in a 6–4 victory over the Boston Bruins, and joined Scotty Bowman as the only two coaches with at least 800 wins.

On February 21, 2017, the Blackhawks defeated the Minnesota Wild 5–3, helping Quenneville become the second coach in Blackhawks history to win 400 games.

Personal life

Quenneville is of Franco-Ontarian French-Canadian heritage and is married to Elizabeth, a native of Connecticut whom he met during his stint with the Hartford Whalers. They reside in Hinsdale, Illinois with their three children: a son, Dylan, and two daughters, Lily and Anna. After working in the U.S. for over 30 years Quenneville passed the USCIS naturalization test required to become a United States citizen on May 24, 2011 and now has dual citizenship.

Quenneville was hospitalized and reported as being "in stable condition after 'severe discomfort' of a non-cardiac nature" on February 16, 2011, resulting in him missing a home game versus the Minnesota Wild that night. After a conversation with the coach, Kelly Chase reported that Quenneville had suffered from internal bleeding, the cause of which was yet to be discovered, but that he was in high spirits and intended to be behind the bench for the Blackhawks next game on February 18. It was announced on Friday February 18 that the problem had been a small ulcer caused by aspirin, a drug known to have the potential for gastrointestinal side effects. He finally returned to take the Hawks' practice on February 23, having been released from hospital on the 19th.

Quenneville is a second cousin of both Peter Quenneville, who was drafted 195th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and John Quenneville, who was drafted 30th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.