Quenneville has been out of the NHL since October of 2021 when he and the Florida Panthers mutually parted ways
Quenneville has been out of the NHL since October of 2021 when he and the Florida Panthers mutually parted ways
The NHL held a one-day meeting in Chicago for coaches and general managers on Friday.
It was held in a meeting room at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
In attendance were former Blackhawks President of Hockey Ops and GM Stan Bowman and head coach Joel Quenneville, both of whom have been out of the league since October of 2021.
That’s when the results of an independent investigation into how the Blackhawks handed former player Kyle Beach’s allegations of sexual assault by an assistant coach became public.
The NHL fined the Blackhawks $2 million for their role. Bowman lost his job with the team and Quenneville, who was entering his third season as Panthers head coach, mutually agreed to part ways with the team.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said at the time that should either want to re-enter the league, "I will require a meeting with me in advance of their accepting any NHL club-related position in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place."
It is not known whether either Quenneville or Bowman are currently seeking a job in the NHL, though there were reports earlier this year of mutual interest between Bowman and the Calgary Flames during the team’s search for a new GM (they eventually hired Craig Conroy).
So then why were they in Chicago to meet with the people who currently hold the positions they were let go from?
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Bettman said Quenneville and Bowman addressed the coaches and general managers in Chicago to discuss their experience and what they have learned in the time since their departure from the league.
Bettman's comments were posted by Sportsnet's Eric Engels.
The commissioner said both men had been invited to speak and came voluntarily, not as part of any kind of process toward returning to work in the league.
“It wasn’t something that they were told they needed to do," Bettman explained. "We said, ‘If you’d like the opportunity to address the group, you could have it.’”
Asked if they were making their case for reinstatement to the group, Bettman refused to get into any kind of specifics regarding what was said.
"It was giving them an opportunity to discuss their experience," Bettman repeated.
If and/or when Quenneville and Bowman try to return to the NHL, they still will first need to be reinstated by Bettman.
Ultimately, it’s up to the commissioner whether to allow them back into the league.
"It's something I'm going to have to focus on more, and at some point make a decision on," Bettman said. "Because I have to go through that process at some point, I don't want to be discussing it publicly until I'm ready to tell everybody what I'm thinking."
It would seem, at least on the surface, that Friday’s discussions were a step in that direction.
Where it goes from here, we’ll have to wait and see.
“I still have to make a judgment as to when or whether it’s appropriate for them to be reinstated,” Bettman said. “That’s not a question I’m prepared to answer right now.”
