Blackhawks renew Quenneville's coaching contract

Unlike some of the tough financial decisions Stan Bowman had to make this off-season, the one Thursday to give coach Joel Quenneville a three-year contract extension was a no-brainer for the Blackhawks general manager.

Quenneville, who had one year remaining on his old deal, now will be behind the Hawks' bench until at least through the 2013-14 season.

"He's the perfect leader for the team that we have here," Bowman said. "He's got that right mixture of being a players coach and respects them, but he certainly has a presence when he's in the room. You know he's in charge."

In a summer filled with dramatic change despite winning the Stanley Cup, Bowman viewed Quenneville as a constant the Hawks needed to have in place.

"We've talked quite a bit about some of the moves we've made, but the flip side of that is the stability we have up top and in particular behind the bench with Joel leading the group," Bowman said. "We need to have that continuity going year to year and it's the right mixture for the group we have here.

"We've got many great years to come as we look forward to defending the title."

Quenneville already has established himself as a legendary Hawks coach, but that's what winning a Stanley Cup after 49 years does. Billy Reay never did it and neither did Orval Tessier, Mike Keenan or Darryl Sutter.

"Not too many coaches are going to walk in and have a tremendous team play in front of them," Quenneville said of his two seasons behind the Hawks' bench. "We have a great group of kids and some great leadership in that room. It makes this whole opportunity so special.

"There are probably some nice places to play in the league, but nothing compares to Chicago."

Quenneville's next challenge will be molding this year's roster, a task that begins Saturday with the start of training camp.

The Hawks lost 10 players off their Stanley Cup team, but that hasn't dimmed Quenneville's enthusiasm and belief that there's another good season ahead.

"We have some great pieces and some great parts," Quenneville said. "It's going to be exciting to see how good we're going to really be. It kind of sets the challenge for all of us and we welcome that challenge. There are opportunities in a lot of places to make our hockey club."

Quenneville's extension means he will be Hawks coach for at least six seasons - an unheard of length of time in today's NHL. It would also make him the longest serving Hawks coach since Reay (1963-77).

"It's a very difficult league to coach in, the NHL," Bowman said. "A lot of people would say we have good players here in Chicago, but I think that actually is more difficult for a coach.

"When you have a lot of star players on a team it can be difficult. There's only one puck to go around and so much ice time to divvy up. You have to get players to buy into their roles and that's what Joel has done a great job at."