Joel Quenneville ready to work with Bill Zito after disappointing season

Joel Quenneville said Thursday morning that he is ready to get back to work with the Florida Panthers and is excited about the team’s future under new general manager Bill Zito.

On Wednesday, the Panthers officially announced that the former Columbus associate GM would become the 11th general manager in Florida’s franchise history.

Quenneville said that while he was disappointed in Florida’s past season — and feels for friend Dale Tallon losing his job with the team — the Panthers can be better than they were this past season.

And he expects they will be.

Quenneville spoke on a variety of subjects from the hiring of Zito to his coaching staff for next season as well as what he expects from his team in the future.

Here’s what Coach Q had to say: