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Done Deal: Panthers Hire Q

April 8, 2019, 8:41 AM ET [26 Comments]
Matt Ross
Florida Panthers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Christmas comes early to Florida as the Panthers have officially signed former-Blackhawks coach, Joel Quennville and his glorious mustache. The official press conference will be later this afternoon.

Panthers Twitter Announcment

Unbelievable and awesome.

With three Stanley Cups to his name and second in league history for wins (890 total), Q brings a legit pedigree to the Cats.

Tallon on Q:

"Joel is a three-time Stanley Cup champion head coach who will be a transformative leader for the Florida Panthers franchise." We've seized the opportunity to add one of the most successful head coaches in hockey history and we're thrilled that Joel has agreed to take on the challenge of leading our promising young team. I've worked with Joel previously and have seen firsthand how his passion for the game, head coaching experience and leadership can impact an organization. Joel will accelerate our growth into a club that qualifies for the playoffs consistently and competes every year toward our goal of winning the Stanley Cup."

To be honest, I didn't think they could pull it off, but, man...am I glad they did!

As some of you know, I'm also a Blackhawks fan, so I was lucky to be able to watch Q during his tenure in Chicago. He was a fan favorite and in a time of pro sports' reliance on numbers/analytics becoming so prevalent, to the point it's phasing out big personality coaches, Q managed to not only maintain his, but find tremendous success and admiration along the way.

Stoic, fiery, intimidating (at times), but fair...Q is exactly what this group of guys needs in my opinion. This is a team who has good talent upfront, but it's lacking direction in a number of areas. They desperately need a shot in the arm to help get them to where they need to be and relieve fans of the frustration of a team that should be in a better position each year. Hopefully Q can help here.

What I love about this move is that they didn't wait. They relieve Boughner of his duties one day and announce a new coach (of high caliber) the next. Certainly shows the aggressiveness/sense of urgency fans want to see and that Tallon promised. It also helps to get things in place and moving early - which is never a bad thing.

What to Expect

I'm not an expert on coaching, etc., so I can only give my observations from 10 years of watching him. Q enlisted a scheme in Chicago that was pretty defensive-heavy. He demanded two-way play out of his forwards and sound defense from his blueliners.

It'll be interesting to see how that plays out with this group...the reason I say that is because some guys struggled under Q. Those were the guys who were more "one-dimensional". There's nothing wrong with that, but when the game plan calls for you to be able to get back and help out, and you can't do it, it can be unfavorable for that player.

I'm also expecting/hoping for a BIG improvement on defense. Joel is a former blueliner and prides himself on that aspect of the game with his teams.

One of the knocks on Q is his apparent stubbornness to play young players - he tends to lean towards veterans. Towards the end of his tenure with the Hawks, there was a lot of chatter about the tension between him and Bowman in regards to trades, bringing in guys Q didn't want, having to play said guys/young guns from the Rockford Icehogs (their AHL affiliate), etc., etc...

My perspective on it was always this: Q tended to like guys similar to the era he played in; a time where the game was far grittier and more physical than what we're seeing today. As such, I think he tends to lean towards guys of this ilk - bigger and physical. That's not to say he's some kind of dinosaur who is unable to adapt to a changing game or the modern NHL - which has been moving towards smallish players who are built for speed/quickness, finesse and skill. Personally, I lean towards the type of player Q does, but that's just because that's the kind of hockey I grew up watching and really enjoyed. I think the Panthers will have a really nice blend of modern game and old school grit when it's all said and done and him and Tallon start getting this ball rolling...

Reunited with Dale Tallon has me really curious to see what moves they make in terms of guys they bring in. They are pretty similar in terms of of what they look for in players, so it should be interesting.

There's tons of excitement, so check back this week as I write some more blogs on the signing.

While you wait for the conference, check out this nice writeup about Q's accomplishment's via NHL.com

Here's to hoping Q and his stache come dressed in full Miami Vice threads for the presser...

Pumped to he's back behind the bench - especially when that bench is Florida's. WOO!!!

Go Panthers!
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