ST PAUL, MINNESOTA - OCTOBER 20: Head coach Bruce Boudreau of the Minnesota Wild looks on during the game at Xcel Energy Center on October 20, 2019 in St Paul, Minnesota. The Wild defeated the Canadiens 4-3. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
The Vancouver Canucks are a total clown show right now and the way things are brewing with Bruce Boudreau doesn’t make it look any better.
It all started on Thursday when multiple reports indicated that the team was getting close to naming TNT studio analyst Rick Tocchet as its next head coach.
Obviously, the news got to incumbent coach Boudreau and the Canucks have not made the move yet.
And Boudreau has been put in a tough situation, having an emotional response when asked about the situation and how is approaching the weekend with back-to-back games.
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“I don’t know yet,” Boudreau said at Friday’s morning skate.
“[I’d] be a fool not to say that I don’t know what’s going on but just like I said before, you come to work and you realize how great the game is.”
He was then asked what it means to be an NHL coach and he couldn’t get his emotions together to answer it.
But Boudreau knows that tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers could very well be the last one he coaches for the Canucks.
He joked after Friday’s 4-1 loss, “see you tomorrow…I hope.”
And the Canucks could have handled this better and could and let him go sooner instead of letting this linger into the weekend, making it more emotionally draining on Boudreau.
Boudreau is well respected around the league and fans love him for his personality.
As a coach, he has more than 600 wins – the second-fastest to reach that milestone.
When the Canucks first hired him in December of 2021, fans affectionately welcomed him with “Bruce, there he is” chants.
The chant made its way back on Friday night.
Despite some early success for Boudreau, things have gotten sour for him as the Canucks rank 6th in the pacific division for 2022-2023.
One issue the Canucks have been dealing with is the struggles of J.T. Miller, who signed a seven-year $56 million contract extension with the team in September.
The player has been visibly frustrated this season but it will be tough to move his contract.
Also, there was the fiasco with Tanner Pearson, who sustained a hand injury in November and was originally expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Then this month, the Canucks announced he had suffered a setback and underwent season-ending surgery.
Many have criticized the Canucks and its medical staff, with even the team’s star defenseman Quinn Hughes admitting: “That wasn’t handled right.”
After tonight, the Canucks do not play again until Tuesday – so it would make sense to give the new coach a few days to prepare.
Tochett last served as Arizona Coyotes‘ head coach for four seasons, managing a 125-131-34 record.
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