Top 3 destinations for head coach Bruce Boudreau.

The Minnesota Wild shocked a great many people when they announced this week that head coach Bruce Boudreau had been fired and would be relieved of his duties behind the Wild bench effectively immediately. The news came as a surprise due to the fact that the Wild appeared to be a well coached team with poor goaltending, as well as due to the fact that the Wild were surging their way into a playoff spot prior to Boudreau being terminated.

Many have openly questioned the decision to remove Boudreau, one of the most successful coaches in NHL history in terms of points percentage, but I believe that in the end it simply comes down to the fact that newly appointed Wild general manager Bill Guerin had not hired Boudreau himself and is likely now looking to hire his first ever head coach as a general manager in the National Hockey League. We don't know who the Wild will end up with in the end, and we may not know for a while, but there has already been plenty of talk surrounding where Boudreau himself could end up after this acrimonious split with the Wild. Here are our top 3 picks for teams that Boudreau is likely to end up coaching in the near future:

#1 The Calgary Flames.

The Flames were effectively forced to fire head coach Bill Peters earlier this season after the fallout from the firing of head coach Mike Babcock in Toronto led to some serious scrutiny surrounding the tactics used by NHL head coaches. The Flames have underachieved since Peters was fired and given the expectations that the Flames had for this team this season it seems unlikely that interim head coach Geoff Ward will remain behind the bench for long. 

#2 The San Jose Sharks.

A team in a very similar situation to the one the Flames find themselves in, although in the case of the Sharks their situation is considerably worse. In spite of boasting a roster that is loaded with talent the Sharks have simply been unable to put things together this season under head coach Peter DeBoer, who was fired earlier in the season, or interim head coach Bob Boughner who stepped in to replace DeBoer. The Sharks are simply too good to be this bad and it seems very likely that another coaching change will be forthcoming in the very near future. Boudreau has experience coaching in California as well which could be an added benefit. 

#3 Seattle expansion franchise.

This is perhaps the easiest prediction to make on this list. The Seattle franchise will want an experienced head coach that can help shape what will be a ragtag group of players into a functional NHL team and Boudreau could be the perfect candidate for the job. Boudreau has a proven track record of success, although I have to wonder if he would be willing to take on this job. In spite of his very impressive, and lengthy, coaching record Boudreau has never won a Stanley Cup and as a result I suspect he would prefer to coach a team that can be an immediate contender.