Andrew Brunette has a chance to be an NHL head coach now, taking over a Florida Panthers team that is off to the best start in franchise history.
It should be a happy time. It is not.
Brunette debuted as the replacement for Joel Quenneville as Florida’s coach Friday, running the Panthers through a gameday practice in Detroit. And he made it clear that the Panthers’ on-ice matters are dwarfed by the bigger issue of the sexual assaults reported by former Chicago Blackhawks player Kyle Beach in 2010 and the subsequent cover-up that has engulfed the sport after details came out in recent days.
“It’s a real sad day for hockey, with Kyle Beach and everything he’s gone through,” Brunette said. “You feel for him and what he’s had to deal with. It’s a sad day for our organization, it’s a sad day for our players, it’s a sad day for the game of hockey.”
Quenneville resigned Thursday, two days after the second-winningest coach in NHL history was among those implicated for not swiftly responding to Beach’s allegations of being sexually assaulted by former video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Quenneville was Chicago’s coach when Beach said he was assaulted by Aldrich. A report into what the Blackhawks did and didn’t do at the time — the inference was the team ignored Beach and prioritized its run to the Cup instead — was released this week, and Quenneville’s job was in immediate jeopardy when it came out.
Brunette was picked as the interim coach shortly after Quenneville’s decision to resign was announced Thursday night.
“He’s a great guy, and I’m sure he’s going to be a great coach for now,” Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau said. “It’s not easy for everybody, but we’re going to go through it as a team.”
The Panthers haven’t said if their intention is for Brunette to have the job for a few days, a few weeks or a few months. Florida plays Saturday at Boston then is off until a home game Thursday against Washington.
“I’m day-to-day,” Brunette said.
The report’s fallout has been massive. Chicago president of hockey operations Stan Bowman resigned, and Quenneville left his job with Florida. But Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff — who also worked for the Blackhawks at that time — escaped sanctioning after meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday.
Huberdeau said hockey should, and does, seem secondary given what Beach has endured.
“We all feel sorry for what happened, and that’s all that matters,” the Panthers forward said.
Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said he watched Beach’s interview with TSN after it aired Wednesday night and said it left him “extremely sad.” He was asked if, after watching it, his opinion of Quenneville had changed.
“I’m not sure about my feelings right now,” Ekblad said.
The 48-year-old Brunette spent four seasons playing for Quenneville. Three of those years were in Colorado and the last was in Chicago — the 2011-12 season, Brunette’s last as a player and one where he was a training camp teammate of Beach.
Brunette played 16 seasons for six franchises, including six seasons in Minnesota. He went back to the Wild when his playing days were over for seven more years, holding several jobs, including director of player personnel, assistant general manager and assistant coach.
Quenneville — a three-time Stanley Cup-winning coach, all with Chicago — and the Panthers came calling in 2019, offering Brunette a job as an assistant. He has been in Florida since, perhaps hoping to one day be a head coach, never envisioning that chance would come like this.
“I’m just trying to process,” Brunette said. “It’s been a whirlwind. I wish I could give you a better answer. I can’t explain to you. I understand the bigger issue here right now is Kyle.”
Florida entered Friday looking to become the fifth franchise and seventh team in NHL history to begin a season with eight consecutive victories. The others that have done it: the 1934-35 and 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs, the 1975-76 and 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres, the 2005-06 Nashville Predators and the 2015-16 Montreal Canadiens.
“It’s been a crazy few days with all the information and everything that’s happened,” Ekblad said. “We’re a team that’s a bit distraught right now.”