This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
St. Paul, Minn. • Bruce Boudreau has agreed to terms to coach the Minnesota Wild, giving the team the most sought-after candidate on the market.
Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher announced the move, barely a week after the 61-year-old Boudreau was fired by the Anaheim Ducks. His career record of 409-192-80 is the highest winning percentage (.659) among active NHL coaches.
Interim coach John Torchetti, who took over the Wild in mid-February when Mike Yeo was fired and helped guide them into the playoffs, was considered for the job as well. Another former Anaheim coach, Randy Carlyle, was available, too.
But Boudreau's background was too rich to pass up for the Wild, who had to hold off the pursuit of the Ottawa Senators.
The four-time Pacific Division champion Ducks were eliminated in the first round, like the Wild. Boudreau was on the bench with Anaheim for parts of five seasons, going 208-104-40. Before that, he was the boss of the Washington Capitals for parts of five seasons for a 201-88-40 record.
Ducks general manager Bob Murray rather reluctantly fired Boudreau, who hasn't been able to pair significant postseason success with his consistently winning teams. Between the Ducks and Capitals, he's won eight division titles — but just five rounds in the playoffs. The Ducks have lost a Game 7 on home ice four straight times. Boudreau is 41-39 in the NHL playoffs.
Boudreau has been with a whopping 25 professional hockey teams, 16 as a player and nine as a coach. He even skated in St. Paul long ago, for the Fighting Saints in the World Hockey Association. He scored three goals in 30 games in the 1975-76 season.
With the Wild, he'll inherit a team that has reached the playoffs four straight years but won only two rounds in that span.