Safe to say that as of about 12:15 PM this afternoon, there is a new name near the top of Ottawa’s list of potential Head Coaches.
Following another disappointing Game 7 loss, the Anaheim Ducks have fired Head Coach Bruce Boudreau. It’s not an entirely surprising move given the apparent tension between Boudreau and Ducks GM Bob Murray but it does significantly alter the coaching landscape this off-season.
Pierre Dorion and the Senators have been clear about wanting to hire a guy with NHL experience and Boudreau certainly fills that criteria. He has a career record of 409-192-80 which gives him a regular season winning percentage just a notch ahead of Scotty Bowman. During his time in Washington and Anaheim he’s won an incredible eight division titles.
And while his teams have failed to win it all, Boudreau is considered one of the top coaches in the league.
Despite a slow start in Anaheim, Boudreau’s Ducks finished the year with the lowest goals against total, the top ranked power play and number one penalty kill. Boudreau doesn’t get all the credit for that obviously but those are three areas the Senators desperately need to address this off season.
Oh and Boudreau happens to have family in the Ottawa area.
This wouldn’t be a cheap hire though and would certainly stretch the Senators planned budget for a new bench boss. Dorion and Melnyk both indicated that they have the resources to hire the best man for the job.
Well the best candidate is now on the market. And the Senators need to act quickly if they’re interested.
Mike Yeo, Kevin Dineen, Kirk Muller, Marc Crawford, Guy Boucher, John Steven and Adam Oates are among the other names believed to be in the mix.
