The Florida Panthers finished their season on Saturday night, fired coach Bob Boughner on Sunday morning and are "close" to naming three-time Stanley Cup winner Joel Quenneville as their next coach, the South Florida Sun Sentinel has learned.
Barring a surprise, the hiring of Quenneville could come at noon on Monday, when a news conference is scheduled for Panthers vice president of hockey operations and general manager Dale Tallon to discuss this just-finished, disappointing season.
Instead, a quick pivot to hope for next season would be made with Quenneville on board. Tallon said in a statement on Sunday he wanted a "transformative, experienced head coach with Stanley Cup pedigree to lead our team going forward."
Quenneville, 60, fits that mold as he's second in league history with 890 career wins and those three Stanley Cups. He was a highly-sought coaching free agent since being fired by the Chicago Blackhawks early this season after holding that job since 2008.
He most recently had overtures from Columbus and Buffalo besides the Panthers, according to various reports.
Quenneville's relationship with Tallon, the former Chicago general manager, is one plus for him landing in South Florida. Another plus: The Panthers offering him $6 million a year with bonuses, according to ESPN. Toronto's Mike Babcock is hockey's highest-paid coach at $6.25 million per.
Panthers fire Boughner after disappointing season; team closing in on deal to hire Quenneville to be next coach
The Panthers finished another disappointing season despite Aleksander Barkov finishing with the most points in a season (96) in team history. They have missed the playoffs 16 of the past 18 years and not advanced in them since going to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996.
Quenneville would become the 16th coach of the Panthers _ and the fourth in three years. Boughner replaced Tom Rowe, who led Florida for 61 games during the 2016-17 season, following the firing of Gerard Gallant.
In Boughner's first season, the team started slow, but had a strong second half to the season and finished 25-9-2 in its final 36 games. That left the Panthers one point shy of a playoff berth but with big hopes for this season.
But Florida stumbled out of the gate, going winless in its first four games and ending the first month of the season 2-4-2. It won five in a row in November, but then proceeded to lose five of its next six and then effectively fall out of playoff contention by losing seven games to start 2019.
"We made a tough decision today and have relieved Bob Boughner of his duties as head coach," Tallon said in a statement. "We didn't meet expectations this season and share responsibility for that fact."
So two days after the season ended Quenneville could join the Panthers. One of hockey's big winners taking over one of the league's most consistent losers.
This could be the first of a summer of big moves for the Panthers this season. There are reports linking them to Columbus forward Artemi Panarin and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Quenneville would provide a jolt of championship credibility to a franchise lacking that. The NHL playoffs begin this week. The Panthers sit them out again, but could be close to making a step toward joining them next year.
