The Vancouver Canucks entered this season with reasonable expectations given their immediate turnaround under new head coach Bruce Boudreau last season; he was hired after Travis Greene was terminated and found instant success with the Canucks, coaching them to a well-above .500 record that would have landed them in the postseason over a full 82 game campaign.
However, this season was anything but a success for Boudreau and the Canucks, who have faced multiple on and off-ice issues combined with internal strife with the players and management. President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford announced that the team was in need of "major surgery", and one of the parts of the operation was moving on from Boudreau in a very ugly and public manner that justifiably drew the wrath of fans and pundits.
While the Canucks were certainly well within their right to terminate what they thought was an underperforming employee, the manner in which they did so by allowing the veteran bench boss to essentially be left swinging in the wind and even have to face the media prior to his termination with tears in his eyes was beyond the pale.
The Canucks have since hired Rick Tocchet as their head coach, while Boudreau rejoined NHL Network as a studio analyst. However, don't be surprised to once again see him coaching again.
During an appearance on The FAN Morning Show with Ailish and Justin, Boudreau essentially said that he's a coaching free agent and that if a team wants to offer him employment, he'd "be there".
"I think I have the energy to do it, I think the thing that always worries me about guys how are getting older is staying in tune with the young guys," Boudreau explained when asked if he wants to coach again. "One thing that hasn't changed is my ability to communicate with players. I think that as long as I can stay at that level and do that, I'd love to do it. Even though things didn't go exactly as planned in Vancouver this year, the one thing I thought as the first one there and the last one to leave, got along extremely well with the players who played very hard for me."
"To answer your question in that vein, I think I'd like to coach again, but someone has to want me. If a team wants me, I'll be there."
