Friday Four: Quenneville's success with Blackhawks undeniable

Each Friday throughout the season Kevin Weekes will bring you his Friday Four. He will be blogging about four players, teams, plays, or trends that have caught his eye.

Quenneville firing

We have to start with Joel Quenneville, who was fired as Chicago Blackhawks coach Wednesday. Everyone I spoke to, including his former coaches, players and teammates, said the same thing: He was one of the best hockey people and one of the best coaches ever, and treats everybody so well. There's a reason he's No. 2 all time on the NHL coaching wins list (890), behind only the great Scotty Bowman (1,244).
I don't understand why he had to worry about his job the past few years. He won the Stanley Cup three times (2010, 2013, 2015) and was the best coach the Blackhawks ever had. He turned the franchise into a winning one; they hadn't won the Cup since 1961 and he accomplished that three times and got Chicago to the Western Conference final two other times. The Blackhawks were a perennial Cup contender under Quenneville.
I think now it's best for everyone to just move forward. Quenneville should be able to find work soon if he wants it; there are a lot of teams out there who would love to have him.

New York Islanders

The Islanders continue to exceed expectations this season. Though they lost 4-2 at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, they are still 5-1-1 in their past seven games and are in first place in the Metropolitan Division. General manager Lou Lamoriello, coach Barry Trotz and assistants Mitch Korn and Lane Lambert have done a great job. The Islanders have been a lot of fun to watch and are structured. Last season, they allowed 293 goals, the most in the NHL (3.57 per game). This season, they have allowed 37, the third-fewest in the League and 2.47 per game (also third fewest).
And the players have bought in. With center John Tavares leaving to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Islanders knew they still had talent and could be a winning team. So far this season, they are.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks defeated the Boston Bruins 8-5 on Thursday. Center Bo Horvat had two goals and two assists, and four points, and forward Loui Eriksson had two goals and an assist. This was done without forward Brock Boeser, who is out with a groin injury and could miss some more time. Rookie center Elias Pettersson didn't score a goal, though he had an assist to give him 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in 11 games. The Canucks also received goals from defensemen Ben Hutton and Erik Gudbranson and forwards Jake Virtanen and Antoine Roussel, which speaks to their depth.
At 10-6-1, they're in first in the Pacific Division and coach Travis Green has done a nice job. They're able to win all types of games, low-scoring, high-scoring, and are 4-0-1 in games decided after regulation. Vancouver hasn't made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2014-15, and have missed in four of the past five seasons.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens have been perhaps the biggest surprise team this season after all they went through last season. Coach Claude Julien has done a great job with them. Forward Max Domi has 19 points in 16 games, including nine goals, his total in each of the past two seasons. Domi worked on his conditioning all offseason and it has paid off. He's winning foot races, he's confident, he looks faster. He's an all-star right now.
Forward Tomas Tatar, acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights for forward Max Pacioretty on Sept. 9, has 14 points (six goals, eight assists); forward Brendan Gallagher, center Jonathan Drouin and defenseman Jeff Petry each has 12 points. And though goalie Carey Price hasn't been the Carey Price we've come to know, he still has been getting wins prior to three straight losses (0-2-1). I think the Canadiens are capable of hanging around in the tough Atlantic Division.