Report: Kyle Beach gives his blessing for Joel Quenneville to return to the NHL

The coaching carousel is spinning out of control around the NHL these days and we haven't even reached the official start of the offseason. The Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis Blues and Seattle Kraken have all made coaching changes, with some of the situations still to be resolved. The Senators, Sabres and Blues have all made hirings but the rest of the lot are still seeking a new bench boss.

The hottest free agents on the coaching market appear to be Craig Berube, Todd MacLellan, Dean Evason, Jay Woodcroft and Gerard Gallant but it's easy to forget that one of the NHL's all-time coaches is still available... kinda.

Joel Quenneville hasn't coached in the NHL since 2021 when he resigned from his head coaching position with the Florida Panthers, after it was alleged that he was negligent and culpable in the Brad Aldrich sexual assault scandal from his time with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010. Quenneville was technically suspended by the NHL in the wake of the allegations and would need to seek reinstatement from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman before he could take employment with a team. Bettman hasn't tipped his hand entirely on the matter, but he has made it clear in media that he would welcome a conversation on the matter with Quenneville. All of this is to say that the path for Quenneville's NHL return looks better now than it did in past seasons.

Today it was reported by Quennville's own daughter, Anna Quenneville, that victim Kyle Beach from the 2010 scandal has given Quenneville his blessing to return to the NHL. 

From Anna Quenneville's Twitter account:

It'll be interesting to see what effect, if any, this has on the NHL's decision on reinstatement.

For what it's worth, Quenneville has appeared in media more this season than in past seasons, most notably on the popular Cam & Strick Podcast earlier this season. It was on this podcast where Quenneville finally publicly discussed the scandal in public.

If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth checking out what Quenneville had to say when he was asked about his role in what happened.

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.