Columnist believes Joel Quenneville’s job could be in danger

The NHL ranks pretty high among professional sports leagues when it comes to treating its coaches with a “What have you done for me lately?” approach. It’s almost comical how a bench boss can go from a Jack Adams winner to unemployed – sometimes in the span of a couple seasons.

With that in mind, it’s almost not too ridiculous to read some murmurs about Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville’s job security. (Almost.)

Adrian Dater brings up that question in his Sports Illustrated column. Before you call Dater a buffoon, sample his historically-backed argument:

Think it can’t happen? This is the NHL. Peter Laviolette won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 and was fired in 2008. John Tortorella won the Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004 and was axed three seasons later. Bob Hartley won it with Colorado in 2001, went to Game 7 of the Western finals in 2002, and was canned 31 games into the ’02-03 season. Randy Carlyle won the Cup with Anaheim in 2007, and now he’s looking for work.

Quenneville has a contract that runs through the 2013-14 season, but money is about the only thing it guarantees. The pressure is always high on coaches in a league where financial profit usually only comes with a playoff berth. Quenneville is not immune to such reality. If his team’s current six-game losing streak (0-5-1) continues, and the postseason starts to look at all like the dicey proposition it was last year, sources close to the situation tell SI.com that a change behind the bench is possible.

Much like when the Pittsburgh Penguins hired Michel Therrien and the Washington Capitals promoted Bruce Boudreau, there was a noticeable difference when Chicago brought Quenneville in. Still, the Blackhawks are spending a lot of money and are far removed from the low-profile days of Daze and Zhamnov, so you never know.

Let me ask, then: is Quenneville’s seat getting hotter in Chicago?