Chicago Blackhawks coaching icon set to return to the NHL after 3 seasons away from the bench

The Chicago Blackhawks front office is still looking to bring in the right guy to be the next bench boss of the franchise for years to come. Luke Richardson was relieved of his duties as the organization’s head coach in December, which paved the way for Anders Sorensen to come up from Rockford to serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the campaign.

Getting the right guy to lead the charge with a young budding core is extremely important, but it is just the first thing that general manager Kyle Davidson has on his to-do list this summer. The franchise holds the third overall pick in the draft at the end of June following the lottery results on Monday. This will provide the team another key piece in their rebuild that took a turn for the better at the end of this past season.

Three of the coaching vacancies across the NHL have been filled so far in this hiring cycle, and the most recent hire came on Thursday morning. The coach that will be brought in to lead the Anaheim Ducks is one that the Blackhawks are quite familiar with, as he is returning to his spot behind the bench after three seasons away from the game.

Chicago Blackhawks coaching icon Joel Quenneville to coach the Ducks

Per reports, the Ducks plan to hire Joel Quenneville as their next head coach, with the official announcement expected to come as early as Thursday afternoon. Quenneville spent 11 seasons with the Blackhawks and brought home the three Stanley Cup titles for the franchise a decade ago. In 797 games with Chicago, he posted an astonishing 452-249-96 record, good for 1,000 points exactly. He was let go by the franchise during the 2018-19 campaign in favor of Jeremy Colliton after a rough start to the season.

Quenneville was last coaching for a few years with the Florida Panthers before abruptly resigning from the role during the 2021-22 season after he was connected to the investigation that was brought into the Chicago Blackhawks organization that revealed their mishandling of a 2010 sexual assault allegation involving a team video coach and a player.

Quenneville was reinstated by the league on July 1, 2024 and it was well known across the hockey world that it wouldn’t be long before he landed another gig, as long as he still wanted to be behind the bench. Anaheim will be the fifth franchise that the now 66-year-old has gotten the opportunity to lead in his coaching career.

There are still solid coaching options for the Chicago Blackhawks

Jay Woodcroft and Rick Tocchet should be the new coaching candidates atop of Chicago’s list moving forward. Both have worked with young talent and have found ways to win at the NHL level, which is extremely important with this core that is coming through the organization right now.

This upcoming season will be a very important one for Connor Bedard, as the 2023 first overall pick has scored 20 or more goals and has posted 60 or more points in each of his first two NHL seasons. The hope is for him to take a big leap forward with a new coach calling the shots this fall.