Bettman to meet with Quenneville to review status once playoffs end
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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will meet with coach Joel Quenneville once the season ends to review his status, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports.
Dreger reported earlier this month there is a "strong possibility" of an NHL return this off-season for Quenneville, who still requires clearance from the league.
The 64-year-old has been linked to the New York Rangers vacancy after the team parted ways with Gerard Gallant following their playoff exit.
Dreger adds that Stan Bowman, who also requires clearance, has had conversations with several clubs about various opportunities.
Quenneville resigned as head coach of the Florida Panthers in the fall of 2021 after specifics were revealed of how the Chicago Blackhawks mishandled allegations that a player was sexually abused by an assistant coach in 2010 during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup that season.
Quenneville was Chicago’s head coach when the abuse occurred, while Bowman was the team's general manager at that time and held the role of president of hockey operations when he resigned in 2021.
Bettman said last May that Quenneville had not approached him at that time about reinstatement into the league
"There’s nothing currently happening with Joel,” Bettman said. “And if and when there’s a real conversation to be had, then I’ll focus on it at the time.”
"I assume it’d be initiated by Joel, if and when he thinks it’s the appropriate time and he feels that he’s ready to come back and there’s an opportunity,” he added of the process.
"But again, I’ll have to make an evaluation at that time.”
Quenneville is the second-winningest coach in NHL history, with his 969 victories trailing only the 1,244 amassed by Scotty Bowman.