The Anaheim Ducks dismissed head coach Bruce Boudreau at the end of their 2015-16 playoff run, firing the tenured bench boss after the team failed to win yet another game seven under his watch.
Now, just a few short weeks later, another team has stepped up and taken him on to hopefully lead them farther in their own postseason hunt next year.
Per Kevin Weekes of NHL.com, Boudreau has been named head coach of the Minnesota Wild for the upcoming 2016-17 season, making him the first coach to get picked up off the market in the 2016 offseason. He’ll replace interim head coach John Torchetti, who took over the Wild coaching duties mid-way through the year upon the dismissal of former team head coach Mike Yeo.
A native of Toronto, Ontario, Boudreau will come to the Wild off of his four and a half season stint as head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, which was the result of a quick mid-season pickup by Anaheim following his dismissal from the Washington Capitals. The veteran coach is 1-7 in game seven appearances during the postseason, which many believed to be the reason for his dismissal by the Ducks this spring – but for a Wild franchise that wants to remain relevant as a playoff club in the Central Division, the pickup is significant.
A report from Nick Kypreos suggests that the coach is looking for four years and $12 million in total salary, so there’s a chance that this is what Minnesota is finalizing at the moment. For now, though, there is no official confirmation of these figures.
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