“Don’t think this is the time” – Commissioner Gary Bettman not sure if NHL will reinstate Joel Quenneville
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Gary Bettman and Joel Quenneville
The National Hockey League (NHL) commissioner Gary Bettman remains uncertain whether he’ll be open to reinstating Joel Quenneville‘s return. The latter resigned as the Florida Panthers head coach last October after an investigation revealed how the Chicago Blackhawks mishandled allegations that former player Kyle Beach was sexually abused by an assistant coach in 2010.
Notably, Quenneville was the head coach of that team, which captured the Stanley Cup that season. He later resigned after a meeting with Bettman, who said that “all parties agreed that it was no longer appropriate that he continues to serve as Florida’s head coach.”
“I don’t know. That’s something I’ll have to address with him directly,” Bettman said during an interaction with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap on Friday’s episode of The Point.
“He has indicated that he would, at the appropriate time, like to be part of the game again,” said Bettman. “I don’t think this is the time. But we’ll see what happens in the future.”
“Want time to educate hockey spaces are safe for everyone”
The League didn’t formally suspend Quenneville, however, Bettman said that if Quenneville wishes for another NHL position, he would “require a meeting in advance to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place.”
“A head coach, any coach, has a responsibility to the people who are entrusted to that person,” Bettman told Schaap. “What he needs to do, or hasn’t done, I think at this stage it’s between him and me.”
“My former team, the Blackhawks, failed Kyle and I own my share of that,” Quenneville said in a statement at the time to TSN. “I want to reflect on how all of this happened and take the time to educate myself on ensuring hockey spaces are safe for everyone.”
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Sachin Arora
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