Gary Bettman to meet with Joel Quenneville to revisit coaching future in NHL

Quenneville resigned as Panthers bench boss in October 2021 after an investigation of sexual assault of a former player by an assistant coach during his time as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks was concluded.

Back in 2021, the Blackhawks hired law firm Jenner & Block to conduct an investigation into allegations of sexual assault made against former video coach Brad Aldrich. The alleged assault took place during Chicago's 2010 Stanley Cup playoff run. The investigation revealed that Quenneville and other members of the team's leadership wanted to wait until after the playoffs to take action toward Aldrich.

After the private firm released its findings, a former forward in the organization, Kyle Beach, revealed himself to be "John Doe 1" in the investigation in a nationally televised interview in Canada. Beach said that after he reported the alleged assault to another assistant coach, the coaching staff met with Quenneville and believed that there was no way the head coach was unaware of the allegations despite the coach's previous denials. Quenneville subsequently met with Bettman after the Beach interview before he stepped down from his job with Florida.

At the time of his resignation, Quenneville was in his third season behind the bench for the Panthers after just over 10 seasons in Chicago.

The second-winningest coach in NHL history was not the only person to lose his job in the aftermath of the Beach investigation but thus far is the first who has been reported to have any formal discussion about a return to the league. Stan Bowman (former Blackhawks general manager) and Al MacIsaac (former team executive) resigned from their positions.