The last time Bruce Boudreau lost a head coaching job, he had a new one within two days. This time, it took a little over a week after he was fired by the Anaheim Ducks for him to find his next landing spot.
Boudreau has been named the new coach of the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. The only reason it took a little longer this time is because pretty much every team with an opening wanted to interview him.
The former Ducks coach will replace interim coach John Torchetti, who has now been passed over three times for a full-time role after taking the interim head coaching gig at other stops. He served in the interim role for the Florida Panthers in 2003-04 and the Los Angeles Kings in 2005-06, in addition to his few months with the Wild.
While Torchetti had a solid run, righting the ship after Mike Yeo was fired amid a lengthy losing streak, Boudreau was the best option available among free agent head coaches. With other teams trying to fill openings, notably the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators, the competition for Boudreau's services had to be pretty strong. Additionally, Ottawa had the advantage of Boudreau's daughter and granddaughter living in the city.
Minnesota won out, however, and it's a big coup for the Wild.
Boudreau, has led his teams to a divisional title in eight of the nine seasons he has been an NHL head coach. That includes his time spent with the Washington Capitals from 2007-08 to 2011-12, in addition to the four-plus seasons he spent with the Ducks.
Anaheim won the Pacific for the fourth straight season in 2015-16, but fell to the Nashville Predators in seven games in the first round. The Game 7 loss pushed Boudreau's career record to 1-7. The Ducks also became the only team in NHL history to have four consecutive seasons end in a Game 7 on home ice.
While Boudreau's postseason record is well-documented, the larger sample size afforded by the regular season puts him among the all-time greats in terms of pure numbers. He was the fastest coach to reach 400 wins in the NHL, needing only 663 contests to accomplish the feat. He also has the best points percentage of any coach in NHL history with a .659 mark. His career record is a staggering 409-192-80.
He has also taken two franchises and helped turn them into annual contenders. The Capitals had missed the playoffs three straight seasons and were on their way to a fourth when they fired Glen Hanlon and promote Boudreau from their AHL affiliate. Boudreau led the team to a 37-17-7 record over the 61 games he coached, helped them claim the Southeast Division title and won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. When he took over the Ducks, they didn't turn around right away, but a season after finishing fifth in their division, they won the Pacific. A year after that, the Ducks put up 54 wins.
The veteran head coach has been the master of the quick turnaround, which is part of what the Wild need.
More than anything, it appears the Wild need a new direction and a coach that will be able to gel a team that has some interesting dynamics in terms of structure. Boudreau should be able to provide that.
While he was lauded for the offensive prowess of the Capitals teams he coached, the Ducks relied far more on the defensive side of the game. That was especially true this season, as the Ducks allowed fewer goals than any team in the league. Boudreau can coach a variety of styles and usually finds the one that fits his team best.
As far as the team, the Wild offer the veteran coach a unique challenge. They basically have two core groups -- one of established veterans and another of younger players waiting to break through. They never seemed to find the right mix last year.
There are pieces in place to compete, though. After all, Minnesota has been to the playoffs in each of the last four seasons.
Zach Parise still has some good years left if he can stay healthy. Ryan Suter remains a workhorse defenseman. Youngsters like Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund are among the players with a great chance to truly break out. Meanwhile, Devan Dubnyk can be a solid netminder when he's on his game.
Will the Wild be contending for a division title right away? Probably not, but with Boudreau, they have a coach who has a proven record of winning. Now he must to find a way to get over the hump in the postseason.
The Wild need to get over that playoff hump, too. The franchise has been to the conference finals once and that was back in 2003. Boudreau has only been there once, too, though. Last year, the Ducks were a win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final only to fall to the Chicago Blackhawks, a team the Wild know all too well.
Of the teams that had an opening, the Wild seem like a team that could have most benefited from a coach like Boudreau. They've been a team that appears constantly in search of an identity. Having a coach who has done a lot already in the league, but one that still has bigger playoff aspirations, could be a very, very good thing for the club.
While Boudreau's playoff struggles are concerning, judging Boudreau on an eight-game sample size is a tad unfair. His career could end up being defined by it, but in terms of pure evidence of his ability to coach, 409 wins in 681 games is pretty darn impressive.
The Wild should be pleased with what they've done. They went after the biggest fish on the market and they reeled him in. That's a big positive to start what could be a challenging off-season.
