Blue Jackets not interested in Joel Quenneville

The Columbus Blue Jackets remain the only team without a head coach for the 2024-25 NHL season. Don Waddell fired previous bank boss Pascal Vincent on June 17. Since the league’s reintroduction on July 1, multiple reports have linked Joel Quenneville with the head coaching vacancy in Columbus. However, it appears Quenneville will have to wait for a new NHL home, as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that the Blue Jackets have no interest in Quenneville.

Quenneville resigned from his previous position as head coach of the Florida Panthers without mercy during the 2021-22 season following league investigations into his involvement in the Kyle Beach Sexual abuse allegations were made against then-video game coach Brad Aldrich during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Quenneville reportedly downplayed the matter by eliminating “distractions” during the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup run.

Upon his resignation, Quenneville said: “I want to express my condolences for the pain that this young man, Kyle Beach, has endured. My former team, the Blackhawks, failed Kyle and I am responsible for that. I want to reflect on how this all happened and take the time to educate myself on how I can make hockey spaces safe for everyone.“. After nearly three years away, league commissioner Gary Bettman decided that Quenneville and others were eligible for reinstatement due to, “each of these three individuals has acknowledged that and used his time away from the game to participate in activities that not only demonstrate genuine remorse for what happened, but also demonstrate a greater awareness of the responsibilities that all NHL employees have, especially those in leadership positions.“.

Outside of the obvious controversy of the 2010 playoffs, Quenneville ranks just behind the legendary coach Scotty Sagittarius for the most wins in NHL history behind the bench. The veteran head coach spent 25 years in the NHL between the St. Louis Blues (eight years), Colorado Avalanche (three years), Chicago Blackhawks (11 years) and Florida Panthers (three years). During that span, Quenneville compiled a record of 969-572-77-150 in 1,768 games and made 20 playoff appearances while earning three Stanley Cup rings.

This takes one name off the list for Columbus as the team hopes to rebound from a disastrous 2023-24 season. The Blue Jackets have not made the postseason since the 2019-20 season and have finished in last place in the Metropolitan Division three of the past four years. The franchise’s next head coach will be important, as Columbus has legitimate talent on the roster, such as Johnny Gaudreau and there are many more prospects.