Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman and head coach Joel Quenneville will return for the 2018-19 season, team president John McDonough told reporters Tuesday.
McDonough says any staff changes will be up to Joel Quenneville.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 5, 2018
McDonough: “We’re not tethered to the past. This has been a very disappointing year and our expectations are incredibly high. We’re not going to deviate from those expectations. But I believe both Stan and Joel are the guys that are going to bring this back.”
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 5, 2018
The progress of young players was a point in Quenneville’s favor. McDonough: “I know at one point, that was kind of a knock on Joel, that he wasn’t proficient at coaching young players. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 5, 2018
There was speculation Bowman and/or Quenneville would be fired this spring after Chicago missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years. Bowman and Quenneville have won three Stanley Cups together in Chicago since 2010 and both signed three-year contracts in January 2016.
Bowman became the youngest general manager in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup when the Hawks snapped their 49-year title drought in 2010. During his tenure as GM, Bowman has won three Cups and the Hawks have made the playoffs every season except for this one.
Quenneville, 59, has been behind the team’s bench since being promoted to the role in October 2008. During his time in Chicago, Quenneville has guided the Hawks to more than 400 wins. He’s only the third coach in NHL history to coach more than 1,600 games and on March 10, 2017, he passed Al Arbour for second most coached games all-time.