Florida Panthers Coach Quenneville To Meet Commissioner Thursday

Miami FL

27 October, 2021

2:17 PM

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ST. PETERSBURG, FLA — Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville is scheduled to meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday to discuss his role in how allegations of sexual assault by a member of the 2010 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks team were handled. Quenneville, now in his third season in Florida after he was fired by the Blackhawks after winning three Stanley Cup titles, told reporters Wednesday that he believes the meeting with Bettman will take place at NHL headquarters in New York. Quenneville was among those who met to discuss allegations of abuse by the Blackhawks then video coach Brad Aldrich in May 2010, investigators into the matter said in a 107-page report released to the public on Tuesday. Quenneville said in a statement issued by the Panthers earlier this year that he only learned of the abuse when "John Doe", who was one of nine minor league players called up to serve as Black Aces with Blackhawks for the playoffs filed a lawsuit against the team this year. However, investigators said Tuesday that Quenneville was among Hawks brass who chose to do nothing about the allegations until after the 2010 playoffs had concluded. Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said Tuesday that Quenneville, along with now former Chicago general manager Stan Bowman and former team President John McDonough and other executives put winning a Stanley Cup ahead of protecting the safety of a player. The report stated that Quenneville was "upset" about how the matter of investigating the incident would affect team chemistry as the Hawks prepared for the Stanley Cup Final. Quenneville said in a team statement in July that he had learned of the allegations through the media and that he planned to contact the Blackhawks to offer his support and participation in any investigation. The Hawks commissioned an independent review of the matter by the Chicago law firm Jenner & Block and its findings were released on Tuesday. Wirtz on Tuesday said that Bowman — who resigned from his role Tuesday — was very up front as part of the investigation but suggested that some of his peers were not. Investigators said they spoke to 139 people as part of the four-month probe. Like he said in July, Quenneville said Wednesday that he will cooperate when speaking with Bettman. "(I) look forward to continuing to contribute to the process," he told reporters. "I know I respect you all doing your jobs and having your questions as well here, but I won't comment any further until the appropriate time after I meet with the commissioner." In a statement released Tuesday, Bettman said that he planned to meet with Quenneville and former Hawks assistant general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who is now the general manager of the Winnipeg Jets. Bettman said in the statement he planned to discuss "their roles in the relevant events as detailed in the report. I will reserve judgment on next steps, if any, with respect to them." Quenneville said the matter of his meeting with Bettman was discussed internally Wednesday with his fellow coaches. Asked if he worried about his meeting becoming a distraction, Quenneville said, "I think we try to eliminate all distractions and that was one of them."