PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 09: Head coach Bruce Boudreau of the Anaheim Ducks exhorts his team during a timeout during the season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on October 9, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Bruce Boudreau on coaching again: “I’ve had a couple of conversations”

The Anaheim Ducks made a rash decision when the club announced they had fired long-time coach Bruce Boudreau. The Ducks were reacting to an upset first-round loss to the Nashville Predators and weren’t really thinking about how difficult it would be to find a better coach than Boudreau, who’d led Anaheim to four straight division wins. Boudreau is among the NHL’s best coaches and replacing him will be a tall task.

Since Boudreau was given the ax, his services have understandably been in high demand. He told Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register he’s been having conversations about coaching again.

“I’ve had a couple conversations,” Boudreau said. “I can’t delve into it right now. Let’s put it this way: This is why my voice is so bad. I couldn’t talk at all Sunday. I’ve been on the phone all day Friday and Saturday. For 15 hours a day, it was pretty crazy.

“Whether it was the support of people talking to me about different things, it was pretty crazy. And fairly exciting.”

Boudreau is going to find work as quickly as he wants to. He’s the top free agent coach on the market and there’s plenty of potential openings. The Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators and most recently the Calgary Flames all have head coaching vacancies and could use an upgrade.

At this point it seems inevitable Boudreau will be back behind the bench in 2016-17. The big question remains, where? It seems he’ll have the pick of his choosing. Wherever Boudreau goes, the franchise that gets him will be lucky to have him.

[Sportsnet]

About Liam McGuire

Social +Staff writer for The Comeback & Awful Announcing. Liammcguirejournalism@gmail.com

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