CHICAGO _ Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville and general manager Stan Bowman will return to the team next season, team President John McDonough said Thursday during a news conference at the United Center.
Despite Quenneville and Bowman's oversight of the Blackhawks' three Stanley Cup championships since 2010, their status had been the subject of public speculation as the team floundered to a last-place finish in the Central Division and Quenneville's first losing record in 21 seasons as an NHL coach.
"I believe in continuity," McDonough told reporters. "They've had an incredible body of success. We're not tethered to the past. This has been a very disappointing year, and our expectations are incredibly high. We're not going to deviate from those expectations, but I believe both Stan and Joel are the guys that are going to bring this back."
The Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008, but one disappointing season was not enough for McDonough to begin dismantling from the top. He said he discussed Bowman's future with him about a week ago, and he spoke at length with Quenneville on Thursday morning.
McDonough acknowledged his decision to retain them required some deliberation but that "I felt pretty confident they would be back."
"I want them to succeed," McDonough said. "There have been some circumstances that transpired this year that were out of their control. Their commitment has never been stronger. Their work ethic has never been stronger. Their passion is there, and I believe in both of them."
McDonough cited the emergence of young players such as Alex DeBrincat and Nick Schmaltz as grounds for his continued faith in Quenneville. He dismissed outside criticism about Quenneville's ability to develop young players, saying: "Nothing could be further from the truth."
"I think the respect in that (locker) room for Joel is incredible," he said. "I think the players respect him. I think the players respond to him. And there might be some things that Joel is going to fine tune, as well, going into next season. I certainly don't feel that our players have tuned him out."
As for the organization's state overall, McDonough expressed disappointment and a predictable urgency, noting that at this time a year ago the Blackhawks were the top seed in the Western Conference and a favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
"I think the future is bright," he said. "Our core needs to improve. "There's no doubt about it. Our top players need to be our top players. We're starting to see the maturity of our young guys, and I think there's going to be kind of a secondary core that's going to be coming on the scene. I'm very excited about that, as well. We'll see where we go from there.
"What people want to do, they want to put a brand on it," he continued. "They want to put a 'retool' or 'rebuild' (label). "I'd like to 're-win.' I have confidence in Stan and Joel figuring this out. There's going to be a lot of deep and heavy conversations as we get into the offseason. We're not afraid of any topic or addressing anything."
