Joel Quenneville Fired: Chicago Blackhawks Appoint Jeremy Colliton As New Head Coach

The longest coaching tenure in the NHL came to an end on November 6, when the Chicago Blackhawks fired Joel Quenneville.

The 60-year-old joined the franchise in 2008. He won three Stanley Cups during his spell in the Windy City, in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

The latter of those triumphs, however, marked the beginning of a steady decline for the Blackhawks, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in the two following seasons. Last year they missed out on the postseason for the first time in a decade.

"As Chicago Blackhawks fans have seen over the last decade, this organization no longer shies away from making tough decisions or ones based on emotion," Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz said in a statement, adding the franchise had parted ways with Quenneville with his "full support."

"Those days are long behind us. Of course, Joel's [departure] was difficult, as it should have been. During his tenure as head coach to the Chicago Blackhawks, Joel brought the city of Chicago and our fans three Stanley Cups and an incredible era of hockey."

Jeremy Colliton has been named as replacement for Quenneville, who leaves the Blackhawks with the best playoff record in franchise history. Colliton has already appointed Barry Smith as an assistant on his coaching staff.

The 33-year-old, who was drafted as a second-round pick by the New York Islanders in the 2003 draft, becomes the youngest head coach in NHL history.

Last season, Colliton took the Rockford Ice Hogs—the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate—to their first-ever AHL Western Conference Finals in his rookie campaign with the franchise. The Canadian has a difficult job on his hands, as the Blackhawks' positive start this season has quickly petered out, picking up just one of a possible 10 points in recent weeks.

Chicago current sit second-bottom in the Central Division with a 6-6-3 record. Given the incredibly competitive nature of the division, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman felt he had to act as swiftly as possible.

"All of those associated with Jeremy strongly believe he possesses many of the tools that will make him a successful head coach in this league," he said in a statement.

"He has been very impressive as a communicator, a leader, and coach. He knows the Blackhawks system, understands our players and our culture and we believe he gives us the best opportunity to have success and grow as a team."

However, the decision did not sit well in some quarters and Quenneville found plenty of support.

Quenneville is the second head coach to lose his job this season, after the Los Angeles Kings fired coach John Stevens over the weekend and replaced him with Willie Desjardins. The Blackhawks face the Carolina Hurricanes on home ice on November 8, before back-to-back road trips against Philadelphia and Carolina ahead of three consecutive home games against the St Louis Blues, the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota.