Bruce Boudreau appears safe as Ducks cut assistant loose
Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau is safe … for now.
According to the Orange County Register and LA Times, the Ducks let go of assistant coach Brad Lauer. The rest of the staff … is OK, and that includes Boudreau.
As Eric Stephens of the OCR notes on Lauer.
It’s fascinating to think that a guy who has made the playoffs every year in his three full seasons with the Ducks could be on the hot seat. But Boudreau is a different type of animal.
He has a bit of a rep to panic in tough situations. He stayed the course for the entire postseason, then his Ducks couldn’t figure out how to adjust to Chicago’s decision to put Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews on the same line late in the Western Conference Final.
Anaheim blew a 3-2 series lead to lose to Chicago. Whether that was Boudreau’s fault, or Ryan Getzlaf’s, who was just off when he went mano-e-mano against Toews, is up for interpretation.
Via the Orange County Register from around locker cleanout day:
Following another crushing Game 7 loss in the playoffs on Saturday, Bob Murray had the opportunity to end any uncertainty about Boudreau’s status as the Ducks’ bench boss. Instead, Murray chose to hold off on making such a proclamation.
“I haven’t talked to the coaching staff one bit,” Murray said Tuesday after the Ducks had their exit interviews at Honda Center. “I thought the coaching staff made strides this year. But I’ve still got to talk to them. I’m not ready to talk to them. We’ve got to meet later.
“I’ve got to sort things out in my mind. I’m not one to do things quickly. I’m evaluating the whole hockey team. That’s not a yes or a no. I’ve got to evaluate everything.”
This was the third straight time the Ducks lost a Game 7 at home. Then again, Anaheim was three posts in Game 2’s overtime away from going to Chicago with a 2-0 series lead. But those are the breaks.
Next season, the Ducks will probably start the year on ‘Bruce Watch’, which was unimaginable a few weeks ago when Anaheim annihilated the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames in the first and second round of the playoffs.
For a team with contending aspirations, going into a year with a coach whose seat is somewhat warm is not ideal. As for Boudreau — the Ducks have made it one round further every year he’s been coach there. Maybe he loses in Game 7 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final?
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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