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The Florida Panthers finished their season Saturday night, sacked coach Bob Boughner on Sunday morning and are about to name the three-time Stanley Cup winner, Joel Quenneville, as a coach. , the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Unless surprise, the hiring of Quenneville could take place Monday at noon, when a press conference is scheduled for the Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the Panthers, Dale Tallon, to discuss this disappointing season that comes from end.
Instead, a quick turn to hope for next season would be done with Quenneville on board. Tallon said Sunday in a statement that he wanted an "experienced and transformative head coach, at the Stanley Cup pedigree, to lead our team in the future".
Quenneville, 60, fits in this mold while he is second in league history with 890 career wins and these three Stanley Cups. He was a sought after freestyle player since being fired by the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this season after holding this position since 2008.
He recently had openings in Columbus and Buffalo in addition to the Panthers, according to various reports.
The relationship between Quenneville and Tallon, the former managing director of Chicago, is an added bonus for him landing in South Florida. Another advantage: the Panthers offer him $ 6 million a year with bonuses, according to ESPN. Mike Babcock of Toronto is the highest paid hockey coach with $ 6.25 million per game.
The Panthers ended another disappointing season despite Aleksander Barkov with the most points in a season (96) in the team's history. They have missed the playoffs 16 of the last 18 years and have not progressed since the Stanley Cup final in 1996.
Quenneville would become the Panthers' 16th coach – and the fourth in three years. Boughner replaced Tom Rowe, who led Florida for 61 games in the 2016-17 season, following the dismissal of Gerard Gallant.
In the first season of Boughner, the team started slowly, but had a good second half of the season and finished 25-9-2 in their last 36 games. The Panthers therefore have more than one point ahead of the playoffs, but they have high hopes for this season.
But Florida stumbled at the door, having failed to win in their first four games and finishing the first month of the 2-4-2 season. He won five straight games in November but lost five of his next six games. He then lost another seven playoff games by losing seven games in early 2019.
"We made a tough decision today and relieved Bob Boughner of his coaching duties," Tallon said in a statement. "We have not met expectations this season and share the responsibility for this."
Two days after the end of the season, Quenneville could join the Panthers. One of the big winners of hockey is one of the most consistent losers in the league.
This could be the first of a summer big moves for the Panthers this season. Reports link them to attacker Columbus Artemi Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Quenneville would bring a whiff of credibility to the championship to a franchise that was lacking. The NHL playoffs begin this week. The Panthers are joining them, but could be about to take a step forward to join them next year.
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