Former Florida Panthers coach Andrew Brunette was arrested on a DUI charge in Broward County early Wednesday while driving home from a bar in a golf cart, authorities said.
Brunette, 49, was arrested in Deerfield Beach on one count of DUI and two counts of disobeying a stop or yield sign, according to Broward jail records.
He was booked into the county's main jail on $500 bond, records showed.
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According to an arrest report, a deputy was in the process of giving Brunette's illegally parked golf cart a ticket around midnight when Brunette walked out of a nearby bar and told the deputy he was about to leave.
The deputy said Brunette seemed unsteady on his feet and slurred his speech, and when he was joined by his wife, the deputy said he overheard the wife tell Brunette not to drive while the deputy was there.
The deputy remained in the area and reported watching the couple drive away about 17 minutes later, according to the report. The deputy said he watched the golf cart run two stop signs before pulling Brunette over on a residential street about a mile away from his home.
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According to the report, Brunette had difficulty following instructions during a field sobriety test before eventually quitting and asking for an attorney. He also declined to take a breath test to measure his blood-alcohol level, officials said.
Brunette is currently an associate coach for the New Jersey Devils. The Devils said in a statement that the team was aware of Brunette's arrest and gathering additional information.
The former NHLer played in more than 1,100 games over parts of 16 seasons with the Washington Capitals, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks.
Brunette had been an assistant coach for the Panthers but became the interim head coach in 2021 following the resignation of Joel Quenneville, who had to step down after the revelation of how the Blackhawks mishandled abuse allegations brought by a player during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. Quenneville coached Chicago at that time.
The Panthers replaced Brunette with Paul Maurice before the start of this season.
