NHL notebook: Panthers hire Quenneville as coach

[April 09, 2019]  One day after firing head coach Bob Boughner, the Florida Panthers hired Joel Quenneville as his successor.

Quenneville, who was fired by the Chicago Blackhawks in November, landed a multiyear contract worth more than $6 million a year with bonuses, according to ESPN. The Panthers announced his hiring Monday.

The Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups during Quenneville's tenure that began in 2008, and they missed the playoffs just once. He left with a record of 452-249-96 in 797 games. Quenneville, 60, also coached a combined 11 seasons in Colorado and St. Louis and has an overall record of 890-532-77-137.

The Panthers were 79-62-22 in Boughner's two seasons at the helm, missing the playoffs both times. This season was the 16th time in 18 seasons that Florida has missed the playoffs.

--The New Jersey Devils and general manager Ray Shero agreed to a multiyear contract extension, the team announced.

Contract details were not disclosed. The Devils hired Shero on May 4, 2015, to replace Lou Lamoriello. In his four seasons at the helm, the team has made the playoffs just once -- in 2017-18 -- and lost in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Devils finished 31-41-10 this season, 15th out of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference, and had the third-worst record in the NHL. Shero, 56, previously served as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2006-14.

Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville talks to the media during practice for the Winter Classic hockey game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

--Forward J.T. Brown missed the Minnesota Wild's regular-season finale on Saturday night after being arrested for suspicion of public intoxication in the early hours that day.

The team had said he was out for the game with an illness, but police documents show he had been arrested around 2 a.m. at the British Beverage Company in Dallas, according to the Star Tribune. Brown, 28, apologized in a statement to the newspaper.

Brown just completed his first season with the Wild, having signed a two-year deal last offseason, and finished with three goals and five assists in 56 games. The Wild, who lost to the Stars 3-0 in Saturday's finale, finished the season 37-36-9 (83 points) -- in last place in the Central Division.

--Field Level Media

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.