Coach Q

I like Joel Quenneville for two reasons.  As a boy growing up in Windsor, Ontario, he used to go to Detroit Tigers games and root for Dick McAuliffe with that peek-a-boo batting stance of his.  Coach Q also found the time 6-1/2 years ago to visit my nephew shortly before he died from pediatric cancer.  He dropped in at home, not the hospital.

The Blackhawks fired Quenneville yesterday, ending his 10-plus year run as head coach.  Hawks’ owner Rocky Wirtz said in a statement that the team needed a “fresh start.”  Apparently, Quenneville and his three Stanley Cup championships had grown stale.

With the hiring of 33-year old Jeremy Colliton as Quenneville’s replacement, the Hawks may be signaling they want in on that Chicago rage, a full rebuild.  No doubt, ticket prices will be rolled back to pre-Q levels.  Roll back if you’re going to roll over, I say.  That, and don’t be surprised if and when Q makes the hockey Hall of Fame.