Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Capitals GM says Bruce Boudreau isn’t going anywhere

Bruce Boudreau

Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, center, shouts instruction during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, April 6, 2010. The Capitals won 6-3. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP

Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau’s results keeps improving in the regular season, but many questioned his job security after the Caps lost in the first round to the Canadiens. Washington Post reporter Tarik El-Bashir tracked down the team’s general manager George McPhee (affectionately called GMGM by many Washington fans), who claims that Boudreau will be around for a long time.

“Everybody has to take their full share of responsibility here,” McPhee said. “But I can’t lose sight of that we do have is a good team, it is well coached, we have good players, we had a good season. I can’t allow five or six days when things didn’t go well for us to skew what we think of this team, this organization and this staff.”

Pressed on his coach’s status, McPhee added: “Bruce is a really good coach. He’s a really good coach. He’s going to be here a really long time. No need to raise those issues because he’s not going anywhere.”

The NHL might be the sports league with the least job security for coaches and sometimes they’re given the ax when the guillotine should be over the general manager’s head instead. Still, there are instances that justify the occasional trigger-happy approach. The Penguins went from possibly missing the playoffs to winning the Stanley Cup largely thanks to the courageous move to fire Michel Therrien and replace him with Dan Bylsma.

All of that aside, I think Boudreau deserves another shot. Time will tell if he keeps it through the next bump in the road, though, as the “Vote of Confidence” is often a kiss of death for coaches and general managers alike.