Wednesday’s loss to the Nashville Predators was the fourth consecutive year the Anaheim Ducks have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a Game 7 at home under Bruce Boudreau.
Boudreau is now 1-7 in Game 7s as an NHL head coach and it has led to questions about his future with the team.
“I don’t know. I think it’s going to be tough. Part of me actually wonders if it’s better for everybody if they just move on,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told The Andrew Walker Show Thursday. “[Ducks GM] Bob Murray showed a lot of loyalty to Bruce this year. He could have fired him in December. He didn’t. And there were a lot of GMs who said that Bob Murray definitely did not take the easy way out.
“But the two of them have never really had a great relationship. I think it’s pretty tense. Bruce only has one year left [on his contract]. You’ve got to think that Anaheim isn’t going to be giving him an extension.”
Boudreau is 208-104-40 with the Ducks (24-19 in the playoffs), his team has won four consecutive Pacific Division titles and if he was available he’d naturally garner interest from around the league.
Friedman surmised the Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild could be among the teams potentially interested in Boudreau if he and Anaheim part ways.
“I haven’t had time to really decompress and formulate all my thoughts,” Wild GM Chuck Fletcher told reporters Thursday. “As remarkable as it sounds, [interim head coach John Torchetti] and I have never spoken about next year or the future or his vision.”
Friedman added: “I just think that if Murray and Boudreau were tighter, and had a better relationship, I think he could come back. But they don’t have a great one. They’re not that tight. So I’ve got to think that will be the end of it. It might just be good for both of them.
“I mean, you could see how frustrated Boudreau was [Wednesday]. It’s not all the coach’s fault. I actually thought Anaheim played pretty well. But at some point in time everybody’s got to change their approach, and I think that’s the time now for Anaheim.”
Transcript courtesy Today’s Slapshot
