After four and a half seasons in charge in Anaheim, Bruce Boudreau has been relieved of his duties as head coach.
The decision comes two days after losing a fourth straight Stanley Cup Playoff Game 7 at home. “Bruce was a good coach. Won a lot of hockey games, won four division titles, and he’s a very passionate hockey guy,” Anaheim general manager Bob Murray said at Honda Center. “But the bottom line for me was that I did not feel that going forward and making the playoffs again, it would not be a good situation.”
The Ducks have had success during the regular season, winning four straight Pacific division titles. But those success in the regular season turned into nightmares during the Stanley Cup Playoffs as they carried a 3-2 series lead before losing Game 6 on the road and Game 7 on home ice each time they bowed out. In 2013 against Detroit, the Ducks and Red Wings went to overtime four times, but it was Detroit winning three times to tie the series after each occurrence. After losing on the road in Game 6, the Ducks dropped Game 7 at home 3-2.
The next year Anaheim played Interstate 5 rival Los Angeles in the second round. The Ducks fell 0-2 at home before battling back to win games 3-5. Like the year before, the Ducks dropped Game 6 on the road (2-1) and Game 7 at home (6-2). Last season, the Ducks were primed a Stanley Cup Final appearance after sweeping Winnipeg and disposing Calgary in five games in the first two rounds. Facing Chicago in the Western final, they held a 3-2 series lead despite dropping Games 2 and 4 in multiple overtimes. But like the previous years, they dropped Game 6 5-2 on the road and Game 7 5-3 at Honda Center.
This year the Ducks playoff season looked similar to the first round loss to the Kings in 2014. Playing Nashville, Anaheim dropped the opening two games at home before rallying to win Games 3-4 in Nashville before winning Game 5 on home ice. They dropped Game 6 in Nashville 3-1 before losing Game 7 2-1.
During Boudreau’s tenure, the Ducks went 14-10 at home during the playoffs. But they had a record of 6-10 in the four series which they lost. In the losses to the Kings and Predators, they won once and lost three games at home each time. With records like that, it’s easy to see why the Ducks brass decided to make a change.
Dating back to the start of his NHL coaching career with Washington, Boudreau is 1-7 in Game 7’s. His only Game 7 win came in 209, when the Capitals rallied from a 3-1 deficit to New York Rangers and won Game 7 2-1. The next round against Pittsburgh, he lost four of the final five games as the Penguins won in 7 games en route to a Stanley Cup title.
As of right now, the only clear openings in the league is Ottawa and Minnesota. Ottawa has already established a list of coaches they desire to interview and they might have to break the bank if they want Boudreau.
