ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Joel Quenneville returned to hockey Thursday with contrition. He acknowledged mistakes and said he accepted full responsibility for his role in the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault scandal.
The second-winningest coach in NHL history said he is a changed man after nearly four years away from the game. As he took over behind the bench of the Anaheim Ducks, he vowed to continue to educate himself about abuse, to expand his work with victims, and to create an unimpeachably safe workplace with his new team.
Quenneville also realizes that's not nearly enough to satisfy a significant segment of hockey fans who believe his acknowledged inaction during the Blackhawks scandal should have ended his career forever.
“I fully understand and accept those who question my return to the league,” Quenneville said. “I know words aren’t enough. I will demonstrate (by) my actions that I am a man of character.”
Ducks owner Henry Samueli and general manager Pat Verbeek strongly backed the 66-year-old Quenneville when they introduced him as the coach of a franchise stuck in a seven-year playoff drought and thirsting for the success Quenneville has usually orchestrated.
He won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks and took 20 teams to the playoffs during a quarter-century with four NHL clubs, becoming the most consistent winner of his era.
While Quenneville's on-ice record was remarkable, his off-ice behavior in 2010 eventually led to his resignation from the Florida Panthers in October 2021 and a lengthy banishment from the league — a ban that many feel should be permanent.
“I own my mistakes,” Quenneville said, occasionally pausing in his delivery of a written statement. “While I believed wholeheartedly the issue was handled by management, I take full responsibility for not following up and asking more questions. That’s entirely on me. Over nearly four years, I’ve taken time to reflect, to listen to experts and advocates, and educate myself on the realities of abuse, trauma and how to be a better leader. I hope others can learn from my inaction.”
Quenneville and Blackhawks executives Stan Bowman and Al MacIsaac were banned from the NHL for nearly three years after an independent investigation concluded the team mishandled allegations raised by former player Kyle Beach against video coach Brad Aldrich during the team’s first Stanley Cup run. The trio was reinstated last July, and Bowman became the Edmonton Oilers’ general manager three weeks later.
After an investigation and vetting process that lasted several days and included communication with Beach and other sexual assault victims and advocacy groups, the Ducks’ owners ultimately supported the decision made by Verbeek, Quenneville’s teammate in New Jersey and Hartford more than three decades ago.
Samueli and his wife, Susan, and their daughter, Jillian, all spoke at length with Quenneville. Henry Samueli said he is “absolutely convinced Joel is a really good person.”
“I think the four years that Joel spent out of hockey has really given him an opportunity to learn a lot,” Samueli said. “In my mind, he will be a model coach for dealing with situations like this. I think he will be a mentor to other coaches in the league who can come to him and talk to him. ‘How do you handle situations like that? What do you do?’ And they’ll trust him, because he’s old-school who’s changed. The fact that he comes from an old-school hockey culture, but now has transitioned and learned what it means to operate in 2025, not 1980 or whatever, I think that will make a big difference in how he operates.”
Quenneville understands just how badly his reputation and career were damaged by his role in the Blackhawks’ handling of the accusations against Aldrich. He remained out of hockey for another season after his ban ended, but became increasingly eager to continue his career last winter while watching games every night and staying closely informed on the league.
“I thought I had some work to do in growing as a person,” Quenneville said. “As far as doing work along the way, I felt I had progressed to an area where the education I had put me in a position where I know I can share some of these lessons and these experiences as well.”
Many people with a firsthand knowledge of Quenneville’s attempts to change himself supported his desire to return. Quenneville said he has spoken to Beach several times recently, including Thursday morning.
He has formed learning friendships with advocates including Chris Jensen, the former University of Wisconsin player and Maple Leafs draft pick who was abused by a coach as a teenager.
“I think most of the athletes that have played for him would argue that this guy has helped me be better,” Jensen said. “He brings all that expertise, and now he’s got additional perspective about how to be available to help people deal with emotional injury. I think he’s in a much better position to be successful.”
The Ducks' charitable foundation is already involved in charitable and philanthropic work supporting survivors of sexual abuse, and Samueli expects Quenneville to support those efforts.
“I'm very confident that Joel will be a star when it comes to working with those organizations,” Samueli said.
Before his ban, Quenneville spent parts of 25 NHL seasons behind the benches of St. Louis, Colorado, Chicago and Florida, most notably leading the Blackhawks to championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015. His 969 career victories are the second-most in NHL history, trailing only Scotty Bowman’s 1,244.
Quenneville takes over a team with the NHL’s third-longest active playoff drought. Anaheim finished sixth in the Pacific Division this season at 35-37-10 after being in the bottom two for the previous four consecutive years.
He replaces Greg Cronin, who was surprisingly fired by Verbeek after leading the Ducks to a 21-point improvement in his second season.
Quenneville inherits an Anaheim team with an ample stock of young talent, and he was immediately impressed by their roster when he saw it in person during Anaheim's road trip to Tampa Bay last January. He also coached Ducks captain Radko Gudas and forward Frank Vatrano in Florida.
“One of the best coaches I've ever had, and I always tell people that,” said Vatrano, who attended Quenneville's introductory news conference. “As a person, he's a great person, too. That's what always draws me to Q. I'm a huge advocate for him, and I'm glad he's here.”
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
Greg Beacham, The Associated Press
