There’s no doubt that Quenneville, who has a Hall of Fame resume and helped the Hawks win three Stanley Cups in six seasons, is one of the most successful coaches in the history of both the Hawks franchise and NHL. But after missing the playoffs last season, which was Quenneville’s first losing campaign in his 21-year coaching career, and a slow 6-6-3 start through 15 games this season, something had to give.

The Hawks have also struggled this season to fix their lackluster power play, which has the fifth-worst success rate in the league (14 percent).