Joel Quenneville built consistently competitive teams during this run with the Blues. Now he will try to do the same with the Note’s arch-rival, the Blackhawks.

The team introduced Quenneville its new coach Thursday, after cashiering popular Denis Savard.

Coach Q negotiated with Sharks during the off-season, but did not land that job. He showed some interest in the Islanders job — until Scotty Bowman joined the Blackhawks organization.

Quenneville joined the Blackhawks in a scouting and advisory role, but heads turned when he dropped by training camp for a look. Hmmm . . . .

Now he will be coaching some of the best young players in the sport.

“The exciting part is that we can grow as a team,” Quenneville told reporters. “We want to bring out the best in each and every individual. There are a lot of ingredients here that a lot of teams don’t have, and that’s some really high-end skill level.”

Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon was very close to Savard, but team president John McDonough and team chairman Rocky Wirtz want to contend ASAP. That is why they wooed Bowman from the Red Wings and gave him wide latitude.

Tallon had to fire Savard – and he realizes that his position is tenuous.

“I can handle it,” Tallon told the Chicago Tribune. “That’s what we’re in this business for. As John has said, this is a big boys table, a big boys club. We’re here to win. I’m going to give it my all.”

But here is Trib blogger Steve Rosenbloom sees it: “They should just finish the job. They should do what it seems hockey guru Scotty Bowman has in mind, which I believe is to get rid of Tallon, promote his son, Stan, the Hawks assistant GM, and then everybody will take orders from Scotty. This is what seems to be happening anyway, so why not admit it and get on with it?”

The Blackhawks were the NHL’s most inert franchise under Bill Wirtz. Since his passing, the franchise has been flying at warp speed.

And their rivalry with the Blues has become a whole lot more intense as a result. With Coach Q glaring ominously on the enemy bench, these games will be great fun.

AROUND THE RINKS: Nikolai Khabibulin has looked better than newcomer Cristobal Huet so far this season, but the Hawks could still send Khabibulin to the minors to clear salary cap space for a real No. 2 center. After signing Huet, the Hawks had to jettison Robert Lang to the Canadiens – and he has been missed . . . It is always refreshing to see an established start like Jarome Iginla drop his gloves and right. But fans in Calgary are understandably fretful about the injury risk. It’s tough to score 50 goals with broken hands . . . AWOL Predators Alexander Radulov hasn’t turned his back on the NHL, despite a letter he “wrote” to the contrary during this ongoing legal battle between the NHL and Russia’s KHL But Nashville has turned the page on him . . . Stars goaltender Mary Turco, lit up Thursday night by the Blues, said he needs to focus on stopping pucks instead of assuming a leadership role on the team. “As much as I like to pay attention to what’s going on with our team and care deeply about it, I can’t really intelligently comment to what’s going on on the ice or on the bench or anything else,” he told the Dallas Morning News. “For me to play well, I need to worry about myself. It’s a selfish position, and one that needs even more of my attention, especially right now.” . . . Marian Gaborik trade speculation just won’t die . . . Andrew Raycroft won his first start for the Avalanche, raising a flag. Will he eventually replace Peter Budaj as the team’s No. 1 netminder?