Quenneville to stay with Blackhawks

CHICAGO Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Tuesday that, despite rumors, he has no plans to head to the Montreal Canadiens, where friend and former Blackhawks assistant general manager Marc Bergevin is now the GM.

"I think over the last few days there was some speculation on other things that were going on about here in Chicago and me being somewhere else, and first and foremost, I'm excited about being here in Chicago," said Quenneville, who has coached the Blackhawks since 2008. "I love the opportunity, I love the organization, I love where we're heading in the future and that's something I wanted to put to bed right from the outset."

There has been speculation that Bergevin would find a way to get Quenneville to replace interim head coach Randy Cunneyworth, who has been assigned back to assistant duties after taking over Jacques Martin last December.

Quenneville admitted that there was some dysfunction on his coaching staff, which resulted in assistant coach Mike Haviland being fired Tuesday.

Chicago was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a second straight season after winning the Stanley Cup in 2010.

Quenneville wouldn't say who was on his short list to replace Haviland.

Vancouver center Ryan Kesler had shoulder surgery and is expected to be out up to 6 months, meaning he will likely miss the start of the regular season. He said he had been playing with the injury since February.