Q GETS A BIG W
EARNS 750TH CAREER VICTORY WITH HELP FROM CRAWFORD
RALEIGH, N. C. — Ask a Blackhawks player what he likes about coach Joel Quenneville, and you often will hear the word ‘‘ consistency.’’
‘‘ It’s just that consistency — we know what to expect,’’ captain Jonathan Toews said. ‘‘ We know the ability that we have, and we know what’s going to happen when we play well and what to expect when we don’t play so well. There’s that understanding there between the players and the coaches, and we just keep going forward [ and] doing the things that we know are going to make us successful.’’
How’s this for consistency: In 18 seasons as an NHL coach, Quenneville never has been below .500 — not even if you count overtime losses as regular losses. That’s howa coach gets to 750 victories, as Quenneville, at just 56 years old, did with the Hawks’ 3- 1 triumph Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Sometime next season, Quenneville likely will pass New York Islanders great Al Arbour ( 782) and become the second- winningest coach in NHL history, trailing only legendary Scotty Bowman, who has an unthinkable 1,244 victories.
‘‘ I’ve been fortunate, been around real good teams,’’ Quenneville said. ‘‘ The timing’s been fortunate, in a lot of ways, to work with great players, a lot of top teams, some great management people, as well. I’m in the right place a lot, so I’m very happy— exactly happy— with where I’m at right now.’’
Indeed, Quenneville hasn’t had any reclamation projects in his career. With the St. Louis Blues from 1996 to 2004, he coached Brett Hull, Pierre Turgeon, Pavol Demitra and Chris Pronger. With the Colorado Avalanche from 2005 to 2008, he had Joe Sakic and Alex Tanguay. And with the Hawks, he took over from Denis Savard just as Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp, among others, came into their own, leading them over the hump and to two Stanley Cups.
Sure beats coaching ragtag groups of young, struggling players. But as another longtime Chicago coach, Phil Jackson, can attest, managing a star- laden team is its own challenge.
‘‘ He does a lot of great things,’’ defenseman Brent Seabrook said. ‘‘ Gives us a lot of chances to rest. We’ve played a lot of hockey the last five or six years, and he knows the temperature in the room and when guys need a break. He does a good job of things like that, keeping us prepared but also keeping us excited to be at the rink.’’
The flip side could be found on the other bench Monday at PNC Arena. Bill Peters, who coached Corey Crawford, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Bryan Bickell during his three seasons as the coach of the Rockford IceHogs before joining Mike Babcock’s staff with the Detroit Red Wings for the 2011- 12 season, is in his first season as the coach of the Hurricanes. His team is playing out the string in another lost season but is showing some competitive fire down the stretch. After a disastrous start, the Hurricanes are 16- 13- 6 in 2015.
Peters said Quenneville and his staff were in constant communication with the IceHogs during his time there.
‘‘ When you’re around Chicago and you’re around Scotty Bowman and you’re around Joel Quenneville and guys who’ve won and won a lot, if you’re paying attention, it’s an opportunity to learn,’’ Peters said.
While Quenneville never has known losing as a coach, he certainly knew it as a player. In 13 seasons as a defenseman, he made the playoffs five times and won only one playoff series.
If anything, that has made his coaching success more satisfying.
‘‘ When you’ve got a team that’s ready to win, that’s what your intentions are from the start of the season,’’ Quenneville said. ‘‘ Whether it’s easier or not [ with a top- tier team], I think it’s way more enjoyable to be on the winning side of things.’’