At this point, it’s just a matter of time before Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville becomes a member of the Hall of Fame. Really, the bigger question is where he’ll finish in the minds of hockey fans and observers compared to other all-timers.
If you ask Jeremy Roenick, Coach Q deserves to be paid the part, too. He told NHL.com as much.
“I think he gets a lot of credit, but I don’t think he gets enough credit, if that’s the word,” Roenick said. “I think with Babcock signing the deal he did, Quenneville should be licking his chops waiting for his next contract. He deserves to be having the same kind of money that Mr. Babcock got.”
For a Blackhawks organization that is readying for a financial storm after all this success, there’s good news on that front: The ‘Stache is locked up through 2016-17.
A lot can happen until then, as his mettle will be tested in the likely event that the Blackhawks’ supporting cast gets split up quite a bit starting this summer.
That said, he’s also likely to climb the all-time ranks. In the near future, it looks like he’s knocking on Al Arbour’s door in a few categories:
All-time coaching wins (regular season)
1. Scotty Bowman (1,244)
2. Al Arbour (782)
3. Joel Quenneville (754)
4. Ken Hitchcock (708)
All-time coaching wins (playoffs)
1. Bowman (223)
2. Arbour (123)
3. Quenneville (115)
Arbour still has the edge for now (and one more Stanley Cup victory), yet when you’re breathing down the neck of that New York Islanders legend, you know you’re in select company.
In fact, Coach Q is just the third coach behind Arbour and Bowman to coach in 200+ playoff games. He also became just the 11th coach to hoist the Cup three times.
#Blackhawks Joel Quenneville is the 11th head coach in NHL history to win 3 Stanley Cups.
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 16, 2015
He’s probably already the greatest Blackhawks coach, or at least the most decorated:
#Blackhawks have 6 Stanley Cups.
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) June 16, 2015
3 under Joel Quenneville (7 seasons)
3 under other coaches (81 seasons)
Quenneville likely cares most about getting as many Cup rings as possible. In the end, the stats and money will come with the bigger picture success, anyway.
