Ryan Kesler throws some indirect shade at Bruce Boudreau’s coaching

When a player discusses the virtues he’d like in his next head coach, one can’t help but see those comments as an indictment of what the team was lacking under the previous head coach. 

To that end: Ryan Kesler of the Anaheim Ducks discussed his team’s ongoing search to replace the fired Bruce Boudreau in a recent interview with Ben Kuzma of The Province. Boudreau, of course, was hired by the Minnesota Wild about 20 seconds after the Ducks let him go.

While talking in general terms about the virtues of Randy Carlyle – who coached Kesler in the AHL and who has interviewed with the Ducks – Kesler explained what kind of coach he felt Anaheim needed after Boudreau’s dismissal:

“We just need a good bench coach, a coach that does things on the fly and makes changes during the game and not just between periods,” said Kesler. “We need a coach that holds everybody accountable — not just certain guys. We need a coach to come in and just be a good motivator and do what a coach does.

“The biggest thing is we need a good bench coach for strategies. But it’s not my job to pick a coach because there are a lot of good ones out there.”

Boudreau hasn’t exactly been praised in the past for his in-game adjustments, or lack thereof.

We’ve always thought his failures in big games – i.e. Games 6 and 7 of playoff series – have more to do with approach and temperament than with “changing on the fly,” but clearly Kesler believes that’s a virtue the next coach of the Anaheim Ducks must possess.

As for that other criticism … seems Kesler wasn’t fond of the favorites that were being played when it came to accountability.

Read the rest of Kuzma’s piece here, in which he puts over Travis Green for the Anaheim job.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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