Bruce Boudreau reveals bombshell from Canucks last season

Last season was anything but a success for head coach Bruce Boudreau and the Vancouver Canucks, who 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 rebounded in a huge way, enjoying the 2nd overall spot in the Western Conference under head coach Rick Tocchet and helping to put the bad taste of last year out of their mouths.

But according to Boudreau, there was internal pressure within the organization to play defenseman and newly-appointed team captain Quinn Hughes as a center.

"I gotta say this for the first time on TV, and I'm not going to say who, but someone in that Vancouver organization tired to make me make Quinn Hughes a center. I refused to do it, I kept saying 'I'm not making him a center!'"

Hughes is enjoying a Norris Trophy-esque season, having tallied up 11 goals and 40 assists through 41 games this season for the Canucks.

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