Boudreau Re-signs With Anaheim, Sharks Fans Collectively Cheer
By Mike Reed
Make no mistakes and switch up my channel,
I’m Buddy Rich when I fly off the handle.
– Sabotage, The Beastie Boys
I started off with this quote for two reasons. First, with the untimely passing of MCA, the Beasties catalogue has been on permanent rotation at Chez Boomer (thank you for your patience, Mrs. Boomer). Second, for those who don’t know Buddy Rich was a legendary jazz drummer who was insanely talented. He was also known for having a raging temper and throwing fits but never actually taking action. When I think of Bruce Boudreau, I think of Buddy Rich without that cumbersome “insanely talented” part.
For those who haven’t heard, Boudreau’s just signed for another 2 years in Anaheim. What does this mean for us as Sharks fans? For some historical perspective, when Ovechkin was firing on all cylinders, Bruce Boudreau was a coaching genius. As soon as his production slipped? A coaching pariah. It’s hard to think of it now, but when Ovechkin was really working it he was THE guy. He scored over 50 goals 4 of his first 5 seasons in the league including a whopping 65 in the 07-08 campaign. Remember this? I mean, there was an honest debate that Caps fans actually began to win about him being the league’s best. But in 2011 he got off to a slow start, the Caps slipped a bit (12-9-1) and Boudreau got canned. Since getting canned? Dale Hunter only brought the Caps to within a game of the Eastern Conference Finals (BTW, speaking of Hunter, never forget he did this).
Less than a week after his firing, Boudreau got hired by the Ducks to make magic. Instead, his squad posted a barely respectable 27-23-8 the rest of the way. You might say that record’s not bad, but don’t be fooled: a full season and that gives you a record of 38-33-11, or 87 points. That would’ve left the Ducks stronger than last year; instead of placing 13th place in the West they would’ve been in 12th. Now, I know this past season the Ducks owned the Sharks, and seeing them in the playoffs is downright terrifying, but having Boudreau behind the bench just gives me a better feeling about the whole thing.
Another side benefit? In the sad event that Doug Wilson decides to step away from Coach McLellan, we don’t have to worry about being stuck with Bruce Boudreau. If you told me I could have Bruce Boudreau coaching in San Jose or Reggie Dunlop, I’ll go with Reggie every time. Boudreau coaches with all of the subtlety of Patches O’Houlihan. Please, Doug, Bring Back Mac!
Maybe the thing I’m happiest about, though, is that Bruce Boudreau’s explitive-laden tirades will be around the Pacific division for a while. If gambling were legal I’d bet that the Ducks Locker room has been among the funniest, happiest places to be in the NHL, as evidenced by this video. I’m just not sold there’s a lot of laughing to be done with Boudreau giving “inspiring” speeches like this one (caution, NSFW language). If you’ve never seen these, please click the links. Nobody quite flies off the handle like Bruce Boudreau.
~Blueline Boomer
Top 5 sugar-free drinks:
1) Filtered Water
2) Diet Dr. Pepper
3) Powerade Zero
4) Refreshe Clear Tangerine Grapefruit
5) Unfiltered Water
Want to debate a list? Tweet me @bluelinebomber
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