SUNRISE, Fla. — Once Joel Quenneville got past his emotional return to the United Center in January, his second rematch with his former team felt rather ordinary.
There was minimal, if any, spike in his attention as he scouted Blackhawks stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews leading up to their game at the Panthers on Saturday, and it seemed like just another date on the schedule. He made it absolutely clear this matchup won’t have any additional significance for him going forward.
“We’re looking at it like it’s one of our games we have to win and it’s an opponent,” Quenneville said when asked if facing the Hawks meant anything to him. “Whether it’s Toronto or Chicago, it’s a huge game for us.”
Quenneville, who was fired by the Hawks in November 2018, got revenge with a 4-3 victory at the United Center.
In his first season with the Panthers, he had them at 28-16-5 after knocking off the Hawks. Since then, they’ve tumbled out of the playoff field. The Panthers were in a 5-9-1 rut heading into the game Saturday and sat four points behind the Blue Jackets for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Beyond the players Quenneville coached with the Hawks, the game was a reunion for him and Jeremy Colliton as well. While Colliton was never on the NHL staff with Quenneville, he got occasional opportunities to watch him up close during his season and a half coaching the Rockford IceHogs.
“He treated me as good as anyone could hope,” Colliton said. “I enjoyed being around him and just tried to observe and see how he ran his team and how he ran his meetings and all those things. You just try to pick up as much as you can.
“Why wouldn’t you, with the results he’s had over time, and over a long period? It’s not just that he had one run. With other teams he had success, and a long stretch with Chicago where they were probably the premier team.”
While Colliton’s team has fallen out of playoff contention altogether, the Panthers are still scrapping for a spot.
Quenneville got the Hawks to the playoffs in eight of his nine full seasons, including winning three Stanley Cups, but hasn’t been there since getting swept in the first round by the Predators in 2017. The Panthers, who haven’t reached the postseason since 2016, hired him hoping he could make them relevant again.
There’s nothing he wants more than to make that happen this season.
“In the worst way,” Quenneville said. “I know that’s what it’s all about... But as an underdog right now, that’s how we’ve got to look at it and find ways to chip away and put ourselves back in the mix.”
