Bruce Boudreau finally fired as head coach of Canucks

Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

The Vancouver Canucks have relieved Bruce Boudreau of his head coaching duties.

Finally.

The Canucks announced his termination and the hiring of frequently-rumoured coach Rick Tocchet on Sunday, ending the tenure of Boudreau’s time in Vancouver after just 13 months.

Assistant coach Trent Cull has also been relieved of his duties.

“We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Bruce and Trent for their contributions to this organization,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in a release. “We appreciate their dedication and wish them nothing but the best moving forward. This was not an easy decision to make, but one that we felt was necessary for this franchise.

“Rick Tocchet brings a wealth of knowledge to this team from both a coach and player perspective. He has had more than two decades of coaching experience, guiding teams of various styles. As a player, he displayed a high level of character, grit and intensity, while recording impressive offensive numbers.

“We are also excited about the additions of Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar to our coaching staff. Both individuals enjoyed long, successful playing careers as NHL defencemen and together provide a wide range of expertise on both sides of the puck. Tocchet, Foote, and Gonchar all bring a championship pedigree to the organization and we look forward to welcoming them to Vancouver.”

Tocchet will be introduced Sunday afternoon. Adam Foote has also been named assistant coach and Sergei Gonchar has been hired as a defensive development coach.

“I really…I mean, I’d be a fool not to say that I don’t know what’s going on, but like I said before, you come to work and realize how great the game is,” an emotional Boudreau said Friday morning prior to a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Vancouver is sixth in the Pacific Division with an 18-25-3 record for 39 points. Their .424 winning percentage places them 27th among the 32 NHL clubs, and firmly in the race for Connor Bedard, the North Vancouver product and projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Boudreau’s dismissal ends months of speculation he’d be fired and weeks of rumours he’d be replaced Tocchet, who has six years of coaching experience over stints with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2008-10 and Arizona Coyotes from 2017-21.

The Canucks front office had faced the scorn of media and fans alike in their treatment of Boudreau, leaving the veteran coach of 1,087 NHL games twisting in the wind instead of swiftly removing him from the position.

Canucks fans saluted Boudreau with his familiar “Bruce there it is” chant on Friday, and gave the coach, who was initially hired December 6, 2021, another sendoff Saturday.

“It’s unbelievable,” Boudreau said postgame Friday. “I’ve only been here a year, but it’ll go down in my memory books, out of the 48 years I played and coached, the most incredible thing I’ve experienced on a personal level… other than winning championships, of course. It’s very touching.”

In all, Boudreau coached 102 games with the Canucks, compiling a 50-50-13 record.

Overall, the 68-year-old is tied for 20th in NHL history with 617 wins as a head coach.

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