To Joel Quenneville, great expectations aren't a bad thing.
The Florida Panthers coach is preparing his players for a season when their standards perhaps will be at their highest since they joined the NHL in 1993-94.
"I think internally there's expectations, as teammates, as linemates," Quenneville said the first day of training camp. "I think that's a healthy situation to be in. Our division is going to be in a position where you're going to have to have a heck of a year just to make the playoffs."
Quenneville was chosen by a panel of 17 NHL.com writers as the preseason favorite to win the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year. He received 45 points, including four first-place votes. Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders was second with 35 points (four first-place votes), and Gerard Gallant, who is entering his first season as coach of the New York Rangers, was third with 26 points (two first-place votes).
The Panthers have not won a Stanley Cup Playoff series since a surprising run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final and went 10 seasons without a playoff berth (2000-11). But last season, Florida (37-14-5) had a .705 points percentage, the best in its history.
And though a six-game loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup First Round extended their drought without a playoff series win, they return much of the same team. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad is back after fracturing his left leg March 28 and is expected to play a full season with forwards Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart. (Bennett played a combined 15 games for the Panthers in the regular season and playoffs last season after being traded from the Calgary Flames on April 12; Reinhart was acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on July 24.)
In the Atlantic Division, the Panthers will compete with the Lightning, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Montreal Canadiens, who are coming off a run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.
"We did a real good job against them in the regular season and in the playoffs," Quenneville said of the Lightning after a 3-2 preseason win against them Oct. 5. "I thought we played pretty well. Knowing you learn from the best, hopefully we apply it properly."
Quenneville won the Stanley Cup three times as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks (2010, 2013, 2015), won the Adams Award with the St. Louis Blues in 1999-00, and is second in NHL wins with 962 (Scotty Bowman, 1,244).
Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis): Joel Quenneville, Florida Panthers, 45 points (four first-place votes); Barry Trotz, New York Islanders, 35 (four); Gerard Gallant, New York Rangers, 26 (two); Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina Hurricanes, 21 (two); Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning, 18, (two); Dave Hakstol, Seattle Kraken, 15 (one); Jared Bednar, Colorado Avalanche, 15; Todd McLellan, Los Angeles Kings, 11; Bruce Cassidy, Boston Bruins, 9 (one); Dean Evason, Minnesota Wild, 9; Paul Maurice, Winnipeg Jets, 9 (one); Travis Green, Vancouver Canucks, 9; Rick Bowness, Dallas Stars, 7; Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh Penguins, 6; Alain Vigneault, Philadelphia Flyers, 5; Dave Tippett, Edmonton Oilers, 4; Darryl Sutter, Calgary Flames, 2; Craig Berube, St. Louis Blues, 2; Jeremy Colliton, Chicago Blackhawks, 2; Peter DeBoer, Vegas Golden Knights, 2; Andre Tourigny, Arizona Coyotes, 2; Sheldon Keefe, Maple Leafs, 1
