Panthers Hire Joel Quenneville as Head Coach Amid Flyers Rumors

The Florida Panthers did not have to wait long to find their new head coach.

General manager Dale Tallon announced Joel Quenneville will take over on the bench Monday, a day after the team fired Bob Boughner.

Tallon said:

"Joel is a three-time Stanley Cup champion head coach who will be a transformative leader for the Florida Panthers franchise. We've seized the opportunity to add one of the most successful head coaches in hockey history, and we're thrilled that Joel has agreed to take on the challenge of leading our promising young team.

"I've worked with Joel previously and have seen firsthand how his passion for the game, head coaching experience and leadership can impact an organization. Joel will accelerate our growth into a club that qualifies for the playoffs consistently and competes every year toward our goal of winning the Stanley Cup."

The Panthers likely sought to act fast because the Philadelphia Flyers were pushing to hire Quenneville, per Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post.

Quenneville, 60, is the second-winningest NHL coach in history with 890 wins. He's coming off more than a decade on the Chicago Blackhawks bench, where he won three Stanley Cups and made the postseason nine times. The Blackhawks fired Quenneville 15 games into the 2018-19 season.

Quenneville also previously coached the St. Louis Blues from 1996 to 2004 and the Colorado Avalanche from 2005 to 2008. His teams have made the playoffs 18 times in 22 seasons.

The Panthers, meanwhile, have made the postseason five times in their entire existence. The franchise has missed the playoffs each of the last three seasons and has not advanced past the first round since 1996—when the Panthers made a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Avalanche.