May 9, 2008 | 4:28 PM
Category:
Sports
This post has been edited by an administrator
The Avalanche are calling it a
mutual decision. Joel Quenneville is out, but for how long?
"Let's put it this way, I want to coach." Quenneville
coached the Avalanche for 3 seasons. He led them to 4 playoff series and the
team finished with a 2-2 record.
This season might have been his toughest of
the bunch. The team was ravaged with injuries. Joe Sakic, Ryan Smyth, Paul
Stastny, and Marek Svatos all missed considerable time during the regular
season.
The Avalanche beat Minnesota in the opening round of the playoffs, but
the injury bug bit again during their 2nd round series against the Red Wings. Peter Forsberg missed 3 of the 4 games while Stastny, Smyth, Wojtek Wolski
missed time as well. Quenneville did a brilliant job despite the
circumstances.
"I am a big believer in Joel," said General Manager Francois
Giguere. "I just think we got to a point where we both realized that the best
thing was to each go in our separate ways."
The Avalanche are calling Friday's
move philosophical differences. "The game isn't that sophisticated and
different in how it's viewed. Everybody likes to do it their own way and you
have to be yourself when you do these things. If that's the philosophical
differences, I can't really say where they are deviated."
Quenneville
technically won't be able to start looking for a new job until the end of June,
but Giguere added, he will allow Quenneville to start his job search
immediately.
Quenneville, who grew up in the the Toronto area, might want to
return home. The Maple Leafs are looking for a new head coach. The Avs search
for a new head coach is underway as well. Giguere says, he has some idea’s, but
doesn’t expect anything to happen in the next couple of weeks.
