CHICAGO _ Inside the Blackhawks dressing room at MB Ice Arena after the news conference crowd had thinned, general manager Stan Bowman wanted to talk.
Tuesday had been the longest of days.
It started before 8 a.m. when Bowman met with Joel Quenneville to inform the legendary Hawks coach that he had been fired. Next came meetings with Bowman's staff and the appointment of replacement coach Jeremy Colliton, the 33-year-old whose 57-game NHL career with the Islanders ended prematurely because of concussions. No matter how impressive Colliton was at an afternoon news conference _ and he possesses enough smarts and charisma to pass as "Hockey McVay," a nod to NFL wunderkind coach Sean McVay of the Rams _ Bowman sought to clarify why the organization severed ties with the NHL's second-winningest coach ever.
To hear Bowman calmly explain himself in a 20-minute, one-on-one interview, his tie loosened and his guard down, professional reasons solely dictated Quenneville's dismissal _ not personal ones as many of us presumed. You don't necessarily have to believe Bowman; he says Quenneville knows and accepted the tough news with dignity.
"I do want to address this because I don't know where it started that we don't get along," Bowman said of his relationship with Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cups in 10-plus seasons from 2008-2018.
The rest of our conversation touched on various topics related to the bittersweet blockbuster move.
