Rumor: Joel Quenneville already being mentioned as NHL coaching candidate.

When former National Hockey League head coach Joel Quenneville was unceremoniously fired by the Florida Panthers following an investigation into the sexual assault claims made by former Chicago Blackhawks first round draft pick Kyle Beach, I genuinely believed that his career as a head coach in the NHL had come to an end. I didn't think any teams in the league would risk the potential public relations challenges that would come with hiring Quenneville after the fallout from the Beach scandal, but it appears I may have been wrong.

Over the weekend, Andy Strickland of Fox Sports reported that "there is expected to be significant interest" in the former head coach who reportedly is itching to get back behind the bench of an NHL team. Strickland did not link Quenneville to any team in particular, but there is certainly no lack of potential vacancies at the head coaching position around the league.

Over the weekend the Detroit Red Wings fired head coach Jeff Blashill after a long tenure behind the bench, you have coaches in interim positions like Dave Lowry of the Winnipeg Jets, Mike Yeo of the Philadelphia Flyers and Derek King of the Chicago Blackhawks, and who knows what other team's may decide to make a coaching change now and the start of next season.

The big question now for Quenneville will be whether or not the NHL will allow him to return behind the bench, especially considering the public relations challenge it would pose from the league's perspective. It won't be as simple as just signing a new contract with an NHL team, as Strickland points out, Quenneville must be personally reinstated by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman if he wishes to return to the NHL. When you consider the fact that this might reflect negatively on Bettman as well if he were to allow Quenneville to return, it may be a tough sell.

There's no doubting his credentials though. Quenneville is an incredibly experienced NHL head coach with 1,768 regular season NHL games under his belt and an additional 225 playoff games. Over his career he has a record of 969 wins, 572 losses, 77 draws, and 150 overtime losses in the regular season and an additional 121 wins and 104 losses in the playoffs. He has 20 playoff appearances over his lengthy coaching career and of course 3 Stanley Cup championships, all of which he captured as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.