Ties that bind NHL coaches Quenneville, Tippett, Trotz are tight

Welcome to NHL.com, the official site of the National Hockey LeagueBienvenue à LNH.com , le site officiel de la Ligue nationale de hockeyДобро пожаловать на NHL.com, официальный сайт Национальной хоккейной лигиTervetuloa NHL:n viralliselle nettisivustolle NHL.comiinVälkommen till NHL.com, NHL:s officiella web-sidaVítejte na NHL.com, oficiálních stránkách National Hockey LeagueVitajte na NHL.com, oficiálnych stránkach National Hockey LeagueWillkommen auf NHL.com, der offiziellen Seite der National Hockey LeagueBienvenido a NHL.com, el sitio oficial de la National Hockey LeagueNow this is hard to believe."For sure the last guy that anybody would have thought would have been a coach would have been me," Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said.Quenneville has coached 1,920 games in the NHL regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs combined, more than anyone else but Scotty Bowman (2,494), and has 1,043 wins, more than anyone else but Bowman (1,467).He has won the Stanley Cup three times as a coach, more than all but seven others: Bowman (nine), Toe Blake (eight), Hap Day (five), Al Arbour (four), Dick Irvin (four), Glen Sather (four) and Punch Imlach (four).But maybe he was just being modest.He was on a video call arranged by the NHL on Friday with Edmonton Oilers coach Dave Tippett, who was his teammate with the Hartford Whalers, and New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who was his coach with Baltimore of the American Hockey League.Tippett ranks 21st in games (1,185) and wins (590) in the regular season. "I think you're wrong there, Joel.""I don't know," Quenneville said.We've all been apart since the NHL paused the season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, socially distancing, self-isolating, waiting for a return to normal and the game.The ties that bind are tight in hockey though.Here was a great example: Quenneville in Chicago, where he coached the Chicago Blackhawks from 2008-19; Tippett in Arizona, where he coached the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes from 2009-17; and Trotz on Long Island, where he has coached the Islanders since 2018; separated by thousands of miles but hanging out as if in a back room in a rink after a skate.Quenneville played defenseman for the Whalers from 1983-90. We just had good hockey people, people that competed hard, and really smart hockey people that loved talking the game, whether it was in the dressing room, or after practice having a beer, for lunch or wherever you were."Even on a video call, decades later."It was a good group, and it's amazing how many of these guys have stayed friends to this day and remember those good, old days," Tippett said.Quenneville played nine games for the Washington Capitals in the NHL and 59 for Baltimore in the AHL in 1990-91.