The Anaheim Ducks are welcoming Joel Quenneville back to the NHL after over three years and are hoping the 66-year-old head coach can right the ship during the 2025-26 season. Ahead of the upcoming offseason, the organization in Anaheim announced key changes in their current staff.
The Ducks are coming off a 35-win season, finishing with 80 points in the NHL, and sixth in the Pacific Division. It could very well signal the end of the first stage of their rebuild as they set the bar higher and can now hope to be in the wildcard race.
The 2023-24 season was the franchise’s best since the 2018-19, when they registered the same record and finish in the standings. It seems the Ducks have already been through their lowest valley, and they are now expected to evolve into a more competitive team.
That’s where Quenneville comes in and takes over the locker room. The 3-time Stanley Cup winning head coach will hope to feed some experience to the league’s fifth-youngest roster.
Head coach Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks handles bench duties against the Minnesota Wild at the TCF Bank Stadium during the 2016 Coors Light Stadium Series game on February 21, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
On that note, the Ducks are undergoing several systemic changes, including parting ways with a couple of assistant coaches to make room for Coach Q’s incoming staff.
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“The Ducks will not retain assistant coaches Brent Thompson and Richard Clune,” Anaheim announced, via the team’s X account. Clune had been introduced as assistant coach in Anaheim this past season, while the 2023-24 campaign was Thompson’s second with the organization in California.
Stepping into contention
The Ducks; front office felt the team’s current core was just one decorated coach away from taking the next step and that’s why they chose Quenneville to take over behind the bench after firing Greg Cronin.
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“It’s time to take the step to becoming a perennial playoff contender and eventually a Stanley Cup contender,” Ducks owner Henry Samueli stated. “If we want to take that step, we really should bring in a coach that’s been there and done that. We felt comfortable that [Quenneville] could take us from the end of a rebuild to the beginning of a playoff era. We’ve been through that, we know what it’s like.”
