Chicago Blackhawks Fire Head Coach Joel Quenneville
The Chicago Blackhawks fired head coach Joel Quenneville and named Jeremy Colliton as his replacement, the team announced Tuesday.
The Blackhawks also relieved assistant coaches Kevin Dineen and Ulf Samuelsson of their duties.
The 60-year Quenneville, who is the franchise's second winningest coach, spent the last 11-plus seasons with the Blackhawks, leading the team to 10 playoff appearances and three Stanley Cup titles.
He had a 452-249-96 record in 797 games since being hired in 2008 and was the NHL's longest tenured head coach.
The Blackhawks missed the playoffs last season and are 6–6–3 this season, losers of five straight.
"This is certainly a very difficult decision. But I believe it is in the best interests of the Blackhawks organization. We need to maximize each and every opportunity with our playoff goals in mind and create continued growth and development throughout our roster at the same time." Blackhawks senior vice president and general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement.
Colliton, at age 33, is now the youngest head coach in the league.
He was the head coach for the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League before being promoted to the Blackhawks job and also played five seasons with the New York Islanders.