SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers have hired Joel Quenneville as their coach.
The Panthers announced the move Monday morning and plan to introduce Quenneville later in the day. Quenneville is second on the NHL's all-time coaching wins list with 890 victories. He also won three Stanley Cups as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.
The hiring also reunites him with Panthers general manager Dale Tallon, who brought Quenneville to Chicago.
Quenneville replaces Bob Boughner, who was fired Sunday after two seasons.
Quenneville becomes the 16th coach in Florida history, and will be asked to be the coach who ends the team's playoff drought. Florida has missed 16 of the last 18 postseasons and has not won a playoff series since 1996.
Coach Q, who's now 60, was the head coach of the Blues from 1996-04. He led the Note to seven straight playoff berths. During the 1999-2000 season, the Blues won their first-ever Presidents' Trophy for having the league's best regular season record. Quenneville was fired during the 2003-04 season.