Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and superstar forward Patrick Kane are in coach Joel Quenneville’s corner.
On Thursday, Blackhawks team president John McDonough announced the organization will retain Quenneville and general manager Stan Bowman for next season despite missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Toews was complimentary of both Bowman and Quenneville, and also said “everyone’s committed” to turning things around.
Toews: “We’ve been through a lot, playing for Joel. Stan’s done a lot of great things for this team. I think everyone’s committed to fixing the issues and the problems that we faced this year, and the same goes for Joel and Stan.” #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) April 5, 2018
Kane focused on Quenneville’s coaching, but did not mention Bowman.
Kane: “You’re not going to find a better coach than Q. We should all feel very fortunate that he’s going to be back another year, try and play better for him next year.” #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) April 5, 2018
Prior to McDonough’s announcement there was speculation Bowman and/or Quenneville would be fired. Bowman and Quenneville have won three Stanley Cup championships together in Chicago since 2010. Bowman became the youngest general manager in NHL history to win the Cup when the Hawks snapped their 49-year title drought at the start of the decade.
Quenneville, 59, was promoted from assistant coach to head coach in October 2008 and has remained in the position ever since. He has guided the Hawks to more than 400 wins, with Billy Reay only having more in franchise history at 516.
Both Bowman and Quenneville signed three-year contracts in January 2016.