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Joel Quenneville was named the fourth head coach in Colorado Avalanche history and 12th overall in franchise history on July 7, 2004, returning to the organization that he began his NHL coaching career with in 1994-95.
Quenneville has compiled a 394-270-93 record for a .582 winning percentage as an NHL head coach.
Quenneville coached his 750th NHL game on March 25, 2007 at Vancouver, guiding the Avalanche to a 5-4 shootout victory over the Canucks. He became the 29th coach in NHL history to reach that milestone. Quenneville, who played 13 seasons (803 games) as a defenseman in the NHL, became only the fifth coach in league history to both play and coach in 750 or more games.
Joel guided the Avalanche to its second straight 95-point season in 2006-07, compiling a 44-31-7 record. Colorado became the first team in NHL history to record that many points and not make the playoffs. Colorado's 44 wins were the club's most since 2001-02 (45). The Avs finished the season on a 15-2-2 run in their final 19 games.
Colorado was the highest scoring team in the Western Conference in 2006-07, averaging 3.26 goals-per-game (267 total). Over the past two seasons, only the Ottawa Senators (598), Buffalo Sabres (574) and Detroit Red Wings (553) have scored more goals than the Avalanche's 547.
In his first season with the Avalanche (2005-06), Quenneville led the team to their 11th consecutive playoff appearance and second place in the Northwest Division with a 43-30-9 record. Colorado defeated the No. 2 seed Dallas Stars in the first round of the 2006 playoffs before falling to Anaheim in the Conference Semifinals.
The former Colorado Rockies defenseman joined the Avalanche after eight seasons with the St. Louis Blues, where he was the winningest coach in Blues history. Quenneville compiled a 307-191-77-18 record while spending 593 regular season games behind the St. Louis bench, the most of any Blues coach. He reached the personal milestone of 500 career games coached on Jan. 23, 2003 versus Chicago. Under his guidance, the Blues reached the Western Conference Finals in 2001, the first time the team had done so since 1986, and won the Presidents' Trophy in 1999-2000 with a league-leading and franchise-high 114 points. He served as head coach of the North American All-Stars at the 2001 All-Star Game in Denver, and was named the NHL's head coach of the year for 1999-00, capturing the Jack Adams Trophy.
Quenneville spent two and one-half seasons with the Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques as an assistant coach prior to being named the Blues' head coach on Jan. 6, 1997. He was instrumental in the Avs' drive for their first Stanley Cup in 1996.
Quenneville played 13 seasons in the NHL, closing out his career with 54 goals and 136 assists for 190 points adding 705 penalty minutes in 803 games played with Hartford, Washington, New Jersey, Toronto, and the Colorado Rockies. He retired as an active player after the 1991-92 season, when he served as a player-coach for the St. John's Maple Leafs (AHL). A short time later, he received his first coaching opportunity with the Springfield Indians (AHL) in 1993-94.
Joel and his wife Elizabeth "Boo" have three children: Dylan, Lily and Anna. Joel is actively involved in numerous charities throughout the Rocky Mountain region. He volunteers his time for The Children's Hospital, Craig Hospital and the Salvation Army. Quenneville, along with Jacques Cloutier and Tony Granato, co-chaired the Salvation Army Red Kettle fund raising efforts during the 2005 and 2006 holiday season. | 