Devils associate coach and former Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette was arrested Wednesday for driving under the influence in Broward County, Florida, according to the county’s arrest log.
Brunette was also charged for disobeying a stop sign or yield sign, and he was held on a $500 bond, according to the arrest log. He was taken to the Main Jail in Broward County. WPLG Local 10 News and Andy Slater first reported Brunette’s arrest, and the Associated Press reported that he was released Wednesday night.
According to an arrest report obtained by WPLG Local 10 News, the incident started outside a bar with an illegally parked golf cart owned by Brunette. He told a sheriff deputy that he was leaving, as the citation was being written, but “the deputy observed Brunette’s speech was slurred and that he was unsteady on his feet.”
The deputy then conducted a traffic stop 17 minutes later when he observed Brunette drive the golf cart away and blow through two stop signs.
“Deputies said when they asked Brunette for his documents, he provided the registration and insurance for the golf cart, but handed over his wife’s driver’s license and stated it was because he wasn’t driving,” according to the report from WPLG Local 10 News.
The Devils said in a statement to The Post that they “were aware of the reports” regarding Brunette and were “in the process of gathering additional information.”
Brunette, 49, became Florida’s interim coach last season after Joel Quenneville resigned following a meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman about his involvement in the Blackhawks’ sexual abuse case. Brunette inherited a 7-0-0 record and guided the Panthers to the league’s best record and a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they lost to the Lightning.
He wasn’t named the team’s permanent head coach following the season, though, as Florida opted to hire veteran head coach Paul Maurice.
In July, the Devils hired him as an associate coach on head coach Lindy Ruff’s staff. New Jersey general manager Tom Fitzgerald called Brunette a “walking encyclopedia hockey-wise” and also referenced Brunette’s desire to work under Ruff — and Ruff’s desire to work with Brunette — as reasons for the hiring, according to an NHL.com article in July.
According to WPLG Local 10 and Broward County court records, Brunette was involved in two other traffic infractions while on Florida’s staff as its assistant and head coach. He was cited for going 27 mph in a 15 mph school zone in 2021. Brunette pleaded not guilty before a traffic hearing officer dismissed it three months later. Brunette was also cited and fined for traveling 58 mph in a 40 mph area.
The Devils currently sit second in the Metropolitan Division with a 32-13-4 record entering the All-Star break — this weekend in Sunrise, Florida — with eight wins in their last 10 games.
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