Ducks’ recent scandal brings Joel Quenneville back under scrutiny

A single sign in the crowd spoke volumes Tuesday night in Philadelphia. As Joel Quenneville and the Anaheim Ducks headed toward the dressing room, a fan held up a message that cut through the noise: “Kyle Beach deserved better.” It was impossible to ignore.

Quenneville, along with former Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman and executive Al MacIsaac, was banned from holding NHL executive positions back in 2021 after an independent investigation concluded they had mishandled allegations of sexual assault made by former player Kyle Beach against team video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010. Beach later publicly identified himself as the victim. All three were reinstated by the NHL in 2024, and Quenneville was hired as the Ducks’ head coach just this past summer.

While the league cleared Quenneville to return and he has publicly stated he spent his time away learning and reflecting, moments like the one in Philadelphia underscore a reality the Ducks cannot escape: not everyone believes his return should have happened.

That tension comes at an especially difficult time for the organization. Earlier this week, earlier the same thing that Kyle Beach sign was shown, the Ducks and the NHL were named in a lawsuit filed by former employee Rose Harris, who alleges she experienced sexual harassment, bullying, and workplace discrimination between 2022 and 2025 while working for OC Sports and Entertainment and later the league. According to ESPN’s Kristen Shilton, Harris claims the harassment included unwanted sexualized contact, derogatory remarks, and a hostile work environment.

For Anaheim, the optics are unavoidable. On the ice, the Ducks, who ended up losing to the Flyers that night, are rebuilding. And struggling, having lost their eighth game in a row on Thursday, and having given up an average of five goals per game over the last eight outings. Off the ice, the organization finds itself once again confronting uncomfortable questions and the sign held by a single fan added fuel to the fire.