Bruce Boudreau wasn’t a free agent very long.
The Minnesota Wild announced on Saturday that they’ve come to an agreement to name Bruce Boudreau their next head coach.
#mnwild has agreed to terms with Bruce Boudreau as the team's new head coach: https://t.co/ycdGU2rgvy pic.twitter.com/damzDEmCLV
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) May 8, 2016
Boudreau was on the coaching market for less than two weeks and attracted plenty of interest on the open market. Ottawa held a lengthy meeting with the 61-year-old on Friday. They reportedly didn’t make him a contract offer. Minnesota was his next meeting and the organization extended a long-term contract to Boudreau on Saturday. Clearly, the contract was good enough to get the deal done.
Boudreau is one of the elite coaches in the league and Minnesota adding him behind the bench is a great addition. He went 46-25-11 with the Anaheim Ducks in 2015-16, recovering from a horrific start to qualify for the playoffs. The Ducks were bounced in seven games against the Nashville Predators in the first round and Boudreau was terminated.
He’s an upgrade over former coach Mike Yeo and a huge upgrade over former interim coach John Torchetti. The Wild made it to the playoffs under Torchetti, losing to the Stars in six games. The team isn’t in need of a reboot but a recharge. Adding Boudreau certainly does that. Boudreau is coming to a Wild team with solid group of players, including Devan Dubnyk, Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter and Nino Niederreiter.
It’s a shrewd hiring by the Wild. Boudreau was the best coach available and to get a deal done with him is great news for the franchise.
