Blackhawks' Bowman: Quenneville safe, but other changes coming
Stan Bowman isn't going to fire his head coach.
The Chicago Blackhawks general manager put any chatter about Joel Quenneville's future to rest as the club met with media for the last time this season Saturday morning.
"Joel is our head coach. He will continue to be our head coach," Bowman told reporters, according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Lazerus. And Joel and I will work together to make sure this (sweep) never happens again."
The GM said other moves will be made, but didn't go into detail.
Stan Bowman angry, repeatedly saying the sweep was "unacceptable." Said changes are on the way, but offered no specifics at all.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 22, 2017
Bowman was predictably perturbed when addressing the Blackhawks' first-round elimination at the hands of the Nashville Predators, who swept Chicago and didn't allow a goal in either of the first two games.
"I'm completely disappointed," he said. "It's unacceptable to be where we are today. I'm frustrated, I'm angry. ... Complete failure."
Bowman acknowledged the Blackhawks fell way short of expectations.
"We did not come even close to reaching the standard we've set for ourselves over the years here," he said.
He took responsibility for that, adding: "That starts with me. I need to be better. There's no doubt about it. I can promise you I will be better."
The Blackhawks entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but they sputtered down the stretch, losing their final four regular-season games, before dropping all four to the Predators.
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Quenneville has guided Chicago to three Stanley Cup championships in nine years, so Bowman's confirmation of his coach's job security isn't a major shock, despite the club's first-round exits in each of the last two seasons.