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Boudreau: If retirement’s anything like the lockout, I never want to retire

Bruce Boudreau

The new Anaheim Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau speaks to reporters at an NHL hockey news conference on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/The Orange County Register, Leonard Ortiz) LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT; MAGAZINES OUT

AP

Bruce Boudreau is going stir crazy.

That’s what the Anaheim Ducks coach told the OC Register on Wednesday, saying he’s had just about enough of not working as the NHL lockout extends into its third month.

“If this has been a preview of what retirement is like,” Boudreau said, “I never want to retire.”

After a whirlwind 2011-12 campaign that saw him get fired by Washington and hired two days later by Anaheim -- the fastest coaching turnaround in NHL history -- Boudreau was looking forward to his first full season with the Ducks.

Last year, Anaheim surged late to bump Boudreau’s record to a respectable 27-23-8 -- the Ducks even briefly flirted with the playoffs -- then made some major moves in the summer.

Franchise legend Teemu Selanne was brought back for another year and the defense was rebuilt with free agent acquisitions Sheldon Souray and Bryan Allen.

Boudreau also signed a two-year contract extension in May -- so yeah, you can see why he and the rest of the Ducks’ coaching staff want to get back at it.

“We’ve come up with Plans A, B, C and D and thought about every possibility to be ready,” assistant coach Brad Lauer said. “But by noon, there’s nothing more to do because there’s no hockey.”

“Frustration,” Boudreau added. “Frustration and waiting, that’s life now.”

Tell me about it.