Devils associate coach and former Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunet was arrested Wednesday in Broward County, Florida for driving while driving, according to county arrest records.
Brunet was also charged with failure to obey a stop sign or stop sign and was held on $500 bond, according to arrest records. He was taken to the main jail in Broward County. WPLG Local 10 News and Andy Slater First reported Brunet’s arrest.
According to an arrest report obtained by WPLG Local 10 News, the incident involved an illegally parked golf cart owned by Brunet being launched outside the bar. He spoke to a sheriff’s deputy while the citation was being written, but “the deputy observed Brunet speak because he was beaten and unsteady on his feet.”
The deputy conducted the traffic stop 17 minutes later when he observed Brunet driving a golf cart and running two stop signs.
“When deputies asked Brunet for his documents, he provided registration and insurance for the golf cart, but said he had not surrendered his wife’s driver’s license and was driving,” WPLG Local 10 News reported. .
In a statement to the Post, the Devils said they are “aware of the reports” regarding Brunet and are “in the process of gathering more information.”
Brunet, 49, became Florida’s interim coach last season after Joel Quenneville met with NHL commissioner Gary Bittman about his involvement in the Blackhawks’ sexual assault case. Brunet posted a 7-0-0 record and led the Panthers to the league’s best record and an appearance in the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they lost to the Lightning.
He was not named the team’s permanent head coach following the season, but Florida opted to hire veteran coach Paul Morris.
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 cited Brunette’s desire to work under Ruff — and Ruff’s desire to work with Brunette — for recruiting reasons, as NHL.com reported in July.
According to WPLG Local 10 and Broward County court records, Brunet was involved in two other traffic violations while an assistant and head coach on her Florida staff. In the year He was cited for going 27 mph in a 15-mile school in 2021. Brunet pleaded not guilty three months later at a traffic trial before the officer was dismissed. Brunette was cited for going 58 mph in a 40 mph zone.
The Devils are currently second in the Metropolitan Division with a 32-13-4 record entering the All-Star break – this weekend in Sunrise, Florida – and have won eight of their last 10 games.
