Brunette takes reins in Sunrise
Andrew Brunette has a chance to be an NHL head coach now, taking over a Florida Panthers team that is off to the best start in franchise history.
It should be a happy time. It is not.
Brunette debuted as the replacement for Joel Quenneville as Florida’s coach on Friday night, guiding the Panthers to a 3-2 overtime win in Detroit as the team extended its perfect start to 8-0-0 — by far the best in team history.
“It’s been a tough 48 hours for us,” Panthers defenceman MacKenzie Weegar said.
A tough few days for hockey, too, for obvious reasons. Before the game, Brunette made clear that the Panthers’ on-ice matters are dwarfed by the bigger issue of the sexual assaults reported by former Chicago Blackhawks player Kyle Beach in 2010 and subsequent coverup that has engulfed the sport after details came out in recent days.
“It’s a real sad day for hockey, with Kyle Beach and everything he’s gone through,” Brunette said. “You feel for him and what he’s had to deal with. It’s a sad day for our organization, it’s a sad day for our players, it’s a sad day for the game of hockey.”
Quenneville resigned Thursday, two days after the secondwinningest coach in NHL history was among those implicated for not swiftly responding to Beach’s allegations of being sexually assaulted by another coach during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Quenneville was Chicago’s coach when Beach said he was assaulted by video assistant Brad Aldrich. A report into what the Blackhawks did and didn’t do at the time — the inference was the team ignored Beach and prioritized its run to the Cup instead — was released this week, and Quenneville’s job was in immediate jeopardy when it came out.
Brunette was picked as the interim coach shortly after Quenneville’s decision to resign was revealed Thursday night.
“He’s a great guy and I’m sure he’s going to be a great coach for now,” Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau said.
“It’s not easy for everybody, but we’re going to go through it as a team.”
The Panthers haven’t said if their intention is for Brunette to have the job for a few days, a few weeks or a few months.
Florida plays Saturday at Boston, then not again until a home game Thursday against Washington. “I’m day-to-day,” Brunette said.
After one day, he’s 1-0-0. The coach has changed. The Panthers are trying to make sure everything else stays the same.