Joel Quenneville claims he did not know about Kyle Beach allegations

Former NHL coach Joel Quenneville was on the popular Cam & Strick Podcast earlier today where he finally publicly discussed the public scandal involving himself and the Chicago Blackhawks from back in 2010.

Quenneville, of course, was head coach of that Stanley Cup winning Blackhawks squad and allegedly had intimate details of the sexual assault perpetrated by video coach Brad Aldrich on then-prospect Kyle Beach. Quenneville was suspended from his position with the Florida Panthers by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for what amounts to negligence during his time as Blackhawks coach.

Today on the podcast, Quenneville was asked about his role in what happened and admitted that he has since spoken to Beach personally.

Check it out:

Quenneville explains that he's been living in Florida for the past three years, he's been watching a LOT of NHL hockey on TV and he's been working on his own personal development.

For the entire interview, watch below:

Call me crazy because I was one of the most critical Quenneville analysts when all of this news broke out, but I think it's time for Quenneville to get a second chance in the NHL. He may have me fooled, but I believe him when he says he has done work on himself to prove that he's worth taking another shot on.

What was maybe most interesting to me though is that Quenneville still maintains he had no knowledge of Beach's allegations back in 2010.

More from Quenneville:

"I had no clue. I knew nothing. I blame myself for not pursuing... the seriousness of the matter. That's on me. Had I known what I found out when I read (TSN article on the allegations), I would have had no problem getting rid of Brad (Aldrich). It was unacceptable."

"I think people knew that the organization had... a big divide. There was upper management, there was hockey management and then there was the coaches. My situation was I had a pretty good idea of what I had to do. And that was to stay in my own lane and do my job as a coach. And had I known differently, I know my line and when I would have had to cross it." 

- Joel Quenneville

Read below for more Blackhawks news, published earlier today.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins officially completed a trade yesterday, one that dates back to January.

Back on January 6th, 2024 the Blackhawks acquired veteran forward Rem Pitlick from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional 7th round pick. The condition though was that the Penguins would only acquire the pick if Pitlick suited up for 30 games with the Blackhawks, a milestone that he won't achieve this season. You see, the Blackhawks demoted Pitlick to the AHL's Rockford IceHogs after just 9 games and with the team's remaining schedule he won't hit the 30 game milestone.

From Blackhawks insider Ben Pope:

So, in effect, the trade cost the Blackhawks exactly nothing.