Hawks refuse to allow rival team to speak to Quenneville

The news sent shockwaves all across the National Hockey League when the Chicago Blackhawks fired head coach Joel Quenneville on Tuesday, after his three Stanley Cup titles and nine playoff appearances with the team. 

It also got a lot of teams thinking about what is best for their team and how a legendary head coach like Quenneville could do to help them move in the right direction. 

Only hours after the firing in Chicago, The Hockey Central at Noon guys broke down teams in the NHL who they feel could seriously consider firing their coach now that Quenneville is available. 

Amongst them was the St. Louis Blues, as even the head coach himself Mike Yeo has revealed he deserves to be fired…  However the Blues are expected to face a major obstacle if they ever look to get permission from the Blackhawks to speak with Quenneville. 

According to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, an NHL executive doubts the Hawks would allow it. 

At least on Tuesday night, the Blues managed to record a win, beating the Carolina Hurricanes by the score of 4-1.  Ryan O'Reilly got his first NHL hat trick for the Blues and forward Robby Fabbri tallied his first goal since Dec. 28, 2016, when he had a hat trick himself against the Philadelphia Flyers. O’Reilly came to St. Louis as part of a four-player, two-pick July 1 trade with Buffalo. The Blues sent Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka, Tage Thompson, a 2019 first-round pick and 2021 second-round pick to the Sabres.

The other teams mentioned in the Hockey Central at Noon segment are the Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers. 

The panel also mentioned the possibility of Quenneville waiting a few years until the 32nd team joins the league in Seattle and then becoming the first head coach of the expansion team then. NHL insider Nick Kypreos also noted that Dave Tippett, who was hired as a consultant in Seattle, is Quenneville’s best friend and could persuade him to join the gang for a new adventure in Seattle… 

For sure, Quenneville is now the hottest commodity on the head coaching free agent market, but it seems like the Blues might not even get the chance to get into the sweepstakes…