He has been out long enough.
But in order to bring him back to the NHL, he would need the blessing of Bettman and his first lieutenant, Bill Daly.
Word from some of Quenneville’s hockey friends in Florida, where he lives, is that he would welcome a return to coaching and more than welcome a return to the Maple Leafs, the team that first drafted him into the NHL in 1978.
There long has been a connection between Quenneville and the Leafs. He grew up in Windsor, was drafted in the second round by the Leafs in 1978. He later became a throw-in of sorts in the controversial trade that sent Lanny McDonald to Colorado.
Against his better judgment, he was convinced to become a coach by former Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher. He first coaching job in hockey: He worked for the Leafs AHL farm team in St. John’s as a playing assistant for Marc Crawford.
At the time, Fletcher sort of joked that “our best prospects in St. John’s were the coaches,” both of whom would later win Stanley Cups for other franchises. Quenneville would win his first Cup as an assistant with Crawford the year after the Quebec franchise moved to Colorado.
Quenneville is a strong, more proven candidate than any of the names that will be thrown around in the next few days. He’s a better candidate than Berube, than Bruce Boudreau, than Gerard Gallant, than Claude Julien, than Todd McLellan, than Jay Woodcroft, than Guy Boucher (a longtime Shanahan favourite), than Dean Evason.
If somehow Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour was a free agent, then that changes everything. But if Brind’Amour stays where he is, the Leafs need to hire the best to replace Keefe.
