Joel Quenneville ducks media following Florida's game, Bill Zito makes statement instead
In a move that many on social media called crass and cowardly, Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville decided to completely duck the media following Wednesday night's game against the Boston Bruins. Quenneville is under intense scrutiny after Kyle Beach came forward as the victim in the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault scandal in 2010 while Quenneville was coach. Quenneville has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the incident, something an independent investigation and Beach himself have said is not true. Following Florida's game, GM Bill Zito addressed the media instead.
"Joel will be meeting with commissioner Gary Bettman tomorrow (Thursday)," said Zito. "And he will have no comment prior to that meeting."
"We commend Kyle Beach for his courage in coming forward, to bring to light the pain he endured during his time in Chicago. The information that has recently become available is deeply troubling. There's no question that the events described in yesterday's report are serious and severe. We are working closely with the National Hockey League to assist with the ongoing process. And, with respect to that, will not comment any further until after the commissioner's meeting tomorrow."
Zito then left before taking any questions from reporters.
Personally, I think chances are high that Quenneville coached his last game with Florida Wednesday night. If he is not completely banned from coaching, a suspension of some sort is likely coming, although I believe that would only enrage fans further. There were many questioning the decision to have Quenneville behind the bench for Florida Wednesday night and those questions are certainly valid. We expect an announcement from the NHL on Quenneville later today.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||