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Boudreau Travels Long Road to His Desired Destination
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While Boudreau admits that his wardrobe might not be NHL-ready, his record as a coach suggests that he is. In nine seasons in the AHL, North America's second-best professional league, he compiled a 340-216-56-43 record with Manchester, Lowell and Hershey. Boudreau's Bears teams went 103-45-11-16, winning the Calder Cup championship in 2006 and advancing to the finals again last season.
He earned the nickname "Gabby" as a teenager because of his talkativeness. But Boudreau struggled to come up with answer when asked why it took so long for him to get his first big break as a coach. He just shrugged.
"Some people have played the game at the NHL level and have made a name for themselves and are able to slide right into positions and get opportunities in front of other people," McPhee said. "It's been a long road for Bruce. But you can't dismiss what he's accomplished."
Boudreau also was a winner at the junior and AHL level. He amassed 165 points for the Toronto Marlboros of the Canadian Hockey League in 1974-75, a record that stood until Wayne Gretzky broke it three years later, and won two Memorial Cups. He still ranks 11th all-time in AHL scoring with 316 goals and 799 points. In 1987-88, he led the league in scoring, and was a member of the 1992 Calder Cup champion Adirondack Red Wings.
But his NHL career stalled because he wasn't the best skater or the most diligent backchecker. He appeared in 141 games over parts of eight seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks, recording 70 points. The experience taught him that hockey isn't all about who can score the most goals.
"I'll never forget Roger Neilson telling me in Dallas one year, 'Bruce you're never going to play in the NHL unless you can play at both ends of the ice,' " he recalled. "I said: 'Are you kidding? I'll just keeping scoring and I'll be getting there.' Turns out he was right."
Boudreau has applied that lesson to the scheme he's been tweaking for years and is now implementing in Washington. He wants his players to be more aggressive on the forecheck, but not at the expense of defense. Though the results have been uneven, he said he's confident it's going to work once it becomes second nature.
"When I watch NHL games and I see teams play a prevent defense, it drives me nuts," Boudreau said. "We've got guys like [Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin] who can score. So I want them to use the gifts that they've got."
