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Joel Quenneville resigned Thursday as head coach of the Florida Panthers following a meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman about his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks’ sexual abuse case.
Assistant coach Andrew Brunette will take over on an interim basis, an NHL source told ESPN.
Quenneville was in his third year as head coach of the Panthers, who are off to a 7-0-0 start. He resigns with two additional years and more than $15 million left on his contract.
Bettman said in a statement that the NHL agrees with Quenneville’s decision to resign.
“Following a meeting with Mr. Quenneville that took place this afternoon in my office, all parties agreed that it was no longer appropriate that he continue to serve as Florida’s head coach,” Bettman said. “We thank the Panthers’ organization for working with us to ensure that a thorough process was followed.
“Given the result, there is no need for any further action by the NHL regarding Mr. Quenneville at this time. However, should he wish to re-enter the League in some capacity in the future, I will require a meeting with him in advance in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place.”
On Wednesday, Kyle Beach came forward as “John Doe,” the former Blackhawks player who filed a lawsuit against the team for mishandling his sexual assault allegations in 2010. The suit led the Blackhawks to commission an investigation by the law firm Jenner & Block, which looked into the allegations that former video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted and harassed Beach during the team’s 2010 Stanley Cup run.
The investigation, which was made public Tuesday, revealed that Quenneville was aware of the situation and took part in at least one meeting regarding the allegations during the 2010 postseason. Quenneville had previously said he only learned of the allegations in the summer of 2021 “through the media.”
In an interview with TSN on Wednesday, Beach said there was no way…
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Source : espn
