from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,
John Stevens and Joel Quenneville, the latter of whom coached the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup championships (2010, ’13, and ’15), were given the heave-ho this past week from behind their respective benches.
A direct connection? Nothing beyond the fact that both Stevens’s Kings and Quenneville’s Blackhawks opened with an underwhelming first month, dealing with rosters their front offices failed to upgrade substantially, or even adequately, over the summer.
It’s that latter point that best connects them. The goods just weren’t there, and the next general manager who volunteers to beat the coach to the door will be the first GM to volunteer to beat the coach to the door.
The Kings figured Ilya Kovalchuk, for whom they outbid (three years, $18.75 million) the Bruins and others in the offseason, would be the fix for an aging core to get immediately back in the hunt. Curious decision by team bosses Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille, given that most of the league is emphasizing youth and speed in NHL 2018-19, and the 35-year-old Kovalchuk, just back from the Triple A KHL, is 6-8 years beyond his prime.
continued plus more hockey topics...
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