Former Wild coach Bruce Boudreau could probably make a good living for the rest of his life by talking about hockey, as he has been doing in recent weeks for NHL Network.
But the always quote-worthy Boudreau is a coach at heart, and on a recent ESPN on Ice podcast he reiterated his desire to get back behind a bench — preferably as a head coach but possibly as an assistant — after being fired by the Wild in mid-February.
"I don't want to end … (as) an NHL coach by being let go in February," Boudreau said. "I'm pretty driven to do it again. I want to get back to it."
Specifically addressing a question about rumblings that he could become an assistant with the Maple Leafs — Boudreau was born in Toronto and played 134 career NHL games for the Leafs — Boudreau said such an arrangement is a possibility but not a preference.
"I'd love to be a head coach first. That's what I've been every year but one," he said. "But I want to coach in the NHL. The one thing about head coaches is they know what they want as assistant coaches. I could definitely fit the bill. Whether I'm asked or choose to go there is another thing. I don't think I could sit at home and not be involved in hockey."
Boudreau was in his final year of a four-year contract and coaching for his third GM (Bill Guerin) when he was fired Feb. 14. The Wild was surging on a 7-3-1 stretch at the time and chasing a playoff berth.
Under interim (now permanent) head coach Dean Evason, the Wild played well until the season was interrupted — ultimately making it into the qualifying round of the expanded bubble postseason before losing a best-of-five series to Vancouver in four games.
Boudreau addressed on the podcast the enormous challenges that have faced coaches in the bubble. Whether he gets another chance — hopefully in a more normal 2020-21 season –remains to be seen.
