Joel Quenneville Given 3-Year Extension With Chicago Blackhawks

Joel Quenneville has received a three-year extension as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. Coach Q is 781-451-77-110 overall in his 19-year career as bench boss in the NHL. With Chicago, he has a record of 343-168-69, including three Stanley Cup Championships since 2010.

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781 wins is most among active coaches, and Joel Quenneville has a chance to move from third to second all-time in coaching wins when Nashville rolls into Chicago on Tuesday night. He’s sitting just one win shy of tying the legendary Al Arbour. Ahead of both Al Arbour and Joel Quenneville is the great Scotty Bowman, with 1244 wins.

Rumors are that the deal is ranging in the $4.5 to $5 million dollar/year range, but the number could be north of five. This is speculation from Leafs Lunch.

"via NHL.com,His 781 wins lead active head coaches and rank third in NHL history. The Windsor, Ontario, native has guided 16 of his 18 teams to the post-season during a career that also includes eight years with the St. Louis Blues (1996-2004) and three with the Colorado Avalanche (2005-08).via NHL.com,He has earned a spot on Chicago’s coaching Mount Rushmore along with George Halas and Mike Ditka of the Bears and former Bulls coach Phil Jackson.“Joel Quenneville is the guy that got the Blackhawks over the 49-year [Cup drought],” said Grant DePorter, CEO of Harry Caray’s Restaurant Group and founder of the Chicago Sports Museum. “Once you do that, you can be immortalized in Chicago history.”“What it all comes down to is how we compete and how much we want to win,” said Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, who has played a role in all three Cup runs under Quenneville. “I guess that’s something that really stands out with Joel, is how much he likes to win. He always screams after games that no one likes to win more than him.”“He’s been huge for a lot of us, coming in here when we were at a young age,” said right wing Patrick Kane, who leads the NHL in scoring with 62 points. “I think he taught a lot of us a specific way to play without giving away any creativity or freedom. You can look at many different things [he’s done]. It doesn’t ever seem he’s up for the coach of the year award, and we all feel in here that he can be there every year and win that award every year. He’s been great with us and we’re very lucky and fortunate to have him.”"

The last paragraph is particularly interesting because Patrick Kane provides the secret to the Blackhawks sustained success. There’s clearly a collective buy-in with what Joel Quenneville asks of his players. He’s described as competitive and driven to win, just as his players, and that’s contagious in a dressing room. When Kane says he taught us a specific way to play without giving away creativity or freedom, it speaks volumes about today’s NHL.

The focus nowadays is structure. Structurally sound teams can have sustained success, regardless of talent level. Look at the 2015-16 Toronto Maple Leafs under new head coach Mike Babcock. The difference between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks is talent level and creativity. Toronto lacks both, making for boring hockey games (regardless of the result) more often than not. Structure without creativity better resembles a European soccer match.

Next: Buffalo Sabres: Matt Moulson Struggling, Rookies Shine

Much of the credit is due to Chicago Blackhawks front-office, and their ability to add and subtract each offseason. They seem to find the right pieces, and coach Joel Quenneville is able to get the most out his players. Signed through the 2019-20 NHL season, the hope is that Coach Q will help bring home at least one more Stanley Cup, if not more over the next few years.