Rozner: Emotional night for Quenneville, Blackhawks fans

Joel Quenneville knew he was going to cry, but for the moment he had to laugh.

His arrival at the United Center on Tuesday afternoon demanded enough cameras to make him glance over his shoulder to see who might have been behind him.

So yeah, he chuckled at the attention.

But he smiled and took it in stride, never breaking stride as he found the visitor's locker room, first joking habit might force him into the wrong office.

It wasn't quite No. 23 returning to Chicago in a Washington uniform, but there was much interest in a future Hall of Fame coach, one who stood behind the bench during the greatest decade in Chicago Blackhawks history.

This was not a small deal, but being the focus of the evening was clearly not what Quenneville wanted, not with two teams riding five-game win streaks and heading into a 10-day holiday.

The Panthers' first-year coach knew the standing ovation would get to him, understood the video tribute could bring tears to his eyes - and those of his fans - and he knew seeing his former stars on the ice in a different uniform would cause a flood of memories.

And it all happened just as he suspected.

During the first TV timeout, the players from both teams returned to their benches, the Quenneville highlights played on the huge video screen and everyone in the building watched.

When it was done, play was held up by the officials as the standing ovation continued, Hawks players tapping their sticks and Hawks coaches clapping, Quenneville repeatedly acknowledging the fans and ultimately his former captain on the ice.

Finally, the game overshadowed the return of a beloved figure in Chicago sports history, a man that is on any coaching Rushmore this city can ever carve.

But in a crowded and entertaining pregame session with the media, Quenneville tried to stress that the game was truly the important matter for both hockey clubs, and that he hadn't even mentioned his own situation to his team, which - like the Hawks - is fighting for a playoff spot and won with only seconds remaining Monday night in Minnesota.

"Never brought it up," Quenneville said with that infectious Quenneville smile. "Got a hockey game tonight. Both teams are excited about where they're at going into the break. It's a very meaningful game to sustain momentum.

"That's all we're focused on."

It doesn't mean he didn't understand the fans' love for him and doesn't mean he wasn't grateful for the fascination in his first game back in Chicago.

"I think it's two different things," Quenneville said. "When the game starts, that's the most important thing. Dealing with your team and trying to win.

"There's a moment when you can say thank you and the appreciation that you have for what transpired and all the people that touched you."

The abundance of pomp was not at all surprising given the circumstance.

It had all the passion one would expect for someone as revered as Quenneville, bringing the grizzled coach to his emotional knees, the first opportunity for fans to salute him since he was fired, to remember together so many great times.

Quenneville recounted his many favorite memories, all dealing with the toughest moments en route to three Stanley Cups, the most brutal series and the great comebacks, like Detroit in 2013, the 17 seconds in Boston and Anaheim in 2015.

"I know I was fortunate to have the team that we had. I was lucky," Quenneville said. "And we had to change on the fly with three different kinds of teams over those years, fortunate to retool in the salary-cap era, able to have four-line teams and depth.

"We had a couple of runs that were disappointing as well, some frustrating losses. So it wasn't all easy or we just expected to win.

"We gave the guys a lot of freedom to play. We tried to instill in them doing things the right way.

"But the cooperation that we had from the guys was always outstanding. The motivation part of the game was basically as simple as you can imagine, which is not always easy.

"That was one standard that was always achieved without even trying to push or shove or demand or beg. As a coach you couldn't ask for an easier setup than that. The players did it."

Quenneville credited ownership, management and so many who contributed to clearly the greatest years of his hockey life.

"It all brings back a special time in our lives and a special time with the city, going through some amazing runs that are so memorable," Quenneville said. "So many people shared in it and so many people played a hand in it and were responsible for it.

"I was very fortunate to have that type of career here in Chicago."

And Chicago was very fortunate to have had Joel Quenneville.