SUNRISE, Fla. — Bob Boughner heard the chatter as much as anyone else did toward the end of last season.
With Florida headed toward a second straight playoff-less spring, rumors began to intensify that Boughner would be let go as the Panthers’ head coach. At the top of the Florida’s wish list for a replacement was reportedly Joel Quenneville, the second winningest head coach in NHL history who had been let go by the Chicago Blackhawks just five months earlier.
Panthers general manager Dale Tallon and Quenneville worked together with the Blackhawks, with Tallon constructing parts of a roster that Quenneville coached to Stanley Cup titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015.