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 game-day 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.