Cup-winning Quenneville dismissed by Blackhawks

CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks fired coach

Joel Quenneville on Tuesday, ending a wildly successful run that produced three Stanley Cup titles and returned the franchise to the top of the NHL after years of heartache.

The trouble for Quenneville began when Chicago was swept by Nashville in the first round of the 2017 playoffs after the Blackhawks finished with the best record in the Western Conference. Then they missed the playoffs entirely last season for the first time in a decade.

“I only think we’re in the winning business, and we better win,” Quenneville said on the first day of training camp.

Two months later, it was over.

“We want to win,” team president John McDonough said. “We want to re-win. We want our building filled, and we want our fans to see an exciting brand of hockey. Sometimes, as painful as it is, you need a fresh start.”

The move comes in the wake of a winless threegame trip, extending Chicago’s losing streak to five in a row heading into Thursday’s home game against Carolina. The power play, a persistent problem, ranked 27th in the NHL heading into Tuesday. The Blackhawks (6-6-3) also are allowing an unseemly 3.73 goals per game. Jeremy Colliton was hired as the 38th head coach in franchise history. Colliton goes from Chicago’s American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford, Ill., to the NHL’s youngest head coach at 33.

Quenneville, 60, was

the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL. He had another year left on a three-year contract extension that he signed in 2016 that pays him $6 million per year.