Ex-Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau gets sassy talking about "structure"
Bruce Boudreau was in fine form this morning.
The former Vancouver Canucks head coach was his charming, authentic self while speaking with Mike Halford and Jason Brough during an interview on Sportsnet 650.
The interview was chaotic at times, as Boudreau kept getting interrupted because he was trying to multitask at a car dealership.
“My friend’s getting his car fixed, my car’s coming in tomorrow, and they’re asking me all these questions,” Boudreau said.
“I’m on the radio!” the 68-year-old then exclaimed to somebody, after getting interrupted again.
Is there any wonder why this guy was a fan favourite in Vancouver?
But it was when Boudreau got sassy, taking a not-so-subtle shot at Canucks management, that he really got Halford and Brough laughing.
Boudreau landed a job as a senior advisor for the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs on Wednesday. It will allow him to work with his son Ben, who was hired as an associate coach with the team in early July.
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Ben spent the past four seasons as the head coach of the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL, winning a championship in 2021.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to work with my children,” Boudreau said. “To work with him is great, especially in a town that he grew up in… It’s an exciting opportunity.”
When asked what kind of coach his 38-year-old son is, Bruce couldn’t resist a wisecrack directed at Canucks management.
“I think he’s a good coach. He’s won the East Coast League in his second year coaching, made the playoffs every year. He’s got a lot of great traits, he’s very passionate.”
Wait for it…
“And you know what? He plays with great structure.”
“The whole structure thing. Yeah.”
🗣️"He's got a lot of great traits, he's very passionate, & you know what? He plays with great structure."
▶️@MikeHalford604 & @SadClubCommish chat with new @OHLIceDogs Senior Advisor Bruce Boudreau on his son's coaching style, + who he thinks the #Canucks next captain should be.
— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) September 7, 2023
Everyone knows what he meant by that.
“Structure” was the buzzword that was thrown around relentlessly by the Canucks management regime last season — even before Boudreau was fired. It was used to describe Rick Tocchet’s strengths as a coach, and indirectly to describe the team’s weakness under Boudreau.
Boudreau, who has won 617 regular season games during his impressive NHL coaching career, has said previously he believes the structure talk was “overblown.”
“All I know is I’ve won a Presidents’ Trophy, a Jennings Trophy… and we used the same system,” he said back in June.