Ducks name Joel Quenneville 12th head coach in franchise history
The Anaheim Ducks have named Joel Quenneville the 12th coach in their franchise history.
TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger was the first to report the news.
Quenneville is the second-winningest coach in NHL history, compiling a record of 969-572-77-150 in 1,768 career regular season games with the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida Panthers. He led the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
Prior to his coaching career, Quenneville played 803 games in the NHL, scoring 54 goals and 190 points along with 705 penalty minutes as a defenseman.
The Ducks had fired Greg Cronin as head coach April 19 following his second season with the team. They finished 2024-25 with a 35-37-10 record and 16 points shy of the second Wild Card seed in the Western Conference. Through two seasons in Anaheim, the first-time NHL head coach finished with a 62-87-15 record.
Dreger reported that sources told him the Ducks “did an extensive background check” in relation to the sexual assault allegation surrounding former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich and former Blackhawks’ forward Kyle Beach from 2010.
Announcement coming shortly. Sources say the Ducks did an extensive background check specific to the Kyle Beach case, including the work Quenneville has done to reform from mistakes made during that time. He was the first candidate Anaheim spoke with after firing Cronin. https://t.co/1dztiye0cU
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) May 8, 2025
In 2021, a report from law firm Jenner & Block outlined Quenneville and the Blackhawks’ inaction through the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The report revealed that Quenneville was aware of the situation and took part in at least one meeting regarding the allegations during the postseason.
Quenneville had stated previously that he was made aware of the allegations during the summer through the media.
After meeting with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Quenneville had resigned as Florida Panthers’ head coach. Bettman released a statement saying that “should (Quenneville) wish to re-enter (the NHL) in some capacity in the future, I will require a meeting with him in advance in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place.”
After three years away from the game, the NHL reinstated Quenneville on July 1, 2024, saying an NHL club could again hire him.
“Over the last two weeks, we conducted interviews with many outstanding coaching candidates, while simultaneously conducting a comprehensive review of what took place while Joel was head coach of the Blackhawks in 2010,” Ducks GM Pat Verbeek said in a team statement. “We spoke with dozens of individuals, including advocates for positive change in hockey and leadership of the NHL, which last July officially cleared Joel to seek employment in the league. Our findings are consistent with Joel’s account that he was not fully aware of the severity of what transpired in 2010. It is clear that Joel deeply regrets not following up with more questions at the time, has demonstrated meaningful personal growth and accountability, and has earned the opportunity to return to coaching.”