Quenneville resigns as Panthers head coach in wake of Blackhawks scandal

Joel Quenneville has resigned as head coach of the Florida Panthers, the team announced Thursday.

The news comes after Quenneville met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman earlier Thursday to discuss his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks' mishandling of an alleged sexual assault in 2010, when Quenneville was Chicago's head coach.

Andrew Brunette will serve as Florida's interim head coach, reports TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

The 63-year-old Quenneville released the following statement:

"I want to express my sorrow for the pain this young man, Kyle Beach, has suffered," Quenneville said. "My former team, the Blackhawks, failed Kyle, and I own my share of that.

"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."

Bettman also released a statement, saying Quenneville will face no further discipline. He added that if Quenneville ever wishes to re-enter the NHL, he'd first need to have a meeting with the commissioner.

"The National Hockey League agrees with the decision tonight by Joel Quenneville to resign his duties as head coach of the Florida Panthers," Bettman said. "In his former role as Chicago Blackhawks head coach, Mr. Quenneville was among several former members of the club's senior leadership group who mishandled the 2010 sexual assault claim by former player Kyle Beach against the club's then-video coach, Brad Aldrich."

He continued: "I admire Kyle Beach for his courage in coming forward, am appalled that he was so poorly supported upon making his initial claim and in the 11 years since, and am sorry for all he has endured."

An independent investigation found that Quenneville was involved in a May 2010 meeting in which multiple team executives were informed that Aldrich acted in a sexually inappropriate way toward a player, later revealed to be Beach.

However, per the investigation, the franchise didn't act on that information until reporting it to human resources three weeks later, days after the team won the Stanley Cup.

Quenneville has said on multiple occasions that he was unaware of the allegations until he learned of them through the media.

Quenneville coached the Blackhawks beginning in 2008 until he was fired during the 2018-19 season. He was behind the bench during the club's three Stanley Cup victories.

The Panthers hired Quenneville in 2019. He was in the midst of his third season with Florida.