Chi stunner
Blackhawks fire Quenneville
Joel Quenneville knew the deal. After three Stanley Cup titles and nine playoff appearances with the Chicago Blackhawks, the longtime coach figured this was a big season for him.
“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.
The Blackhawks fired Quenneville on Tuesday, ending a wildly successful run that returned the franchise to the top of the NHL after years of heartache. Chicago has lost five in a row.
“This is certainly a very difficult decision,” general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement. “But I believe it is in the best interests of the Blackhawks organization. We need to maximize each and every opportunity with our playoff goals in mind and create continued growth and development throughout our roster at the same time.
“After much deliberation the last several days, with great respect to what Joel has meant to the Blackhawks, we knew we had to make a change.”
Assistants Kevin Dineen and Ulf Samuelsson also were let go. Jeremy Colliton was hired as the 38th head coach in franchise history, and Barry Smith, 66, moved from Chicago’s front office to the bench as an assistant coach.
Colliton goes from Chicago’s American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford, Illinois, to becoming the NHL’s youngest head coach at 33. Blackhawks forward Chris
Kunitz, defenseman Duncan Keith and goaltenders Corey
Crawford and Cam Ward are older than Colliton, and defenseman Brent Seabrook also is 33.
WESTBROOK TO SIT WITH ANKLE SPRAIN
Thunder guard Russell
Westbrook will miss Wednesday’s game against the Cavaliers because of a sprained left ankle.
A Thunder spokesman said Tuesday the team wants to see how the ankle responds to treatment for the next few days before providing another update.
The Thunder won its fifth straight game, beating the Pelicans, 122-116, on Monday but lost Westbrook in the third quarter. After coming down hard on the side of his foot, he pounded the ground in frustration before limping off the court. Westbrook finished with 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.