Bruce Boudreau won’t be coaching the Ottawa Senators, but they’re still landing a guy with plenty of clout and name recognition.
The Senators confirmed that former Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Guy Boucher will be their new head coach.
“Over the past three weeks, Pierre Dorion and our hockey operations staff have undertaken a thorough and comprehensive search for our next head coach. Following a detailed evaluation of all coaching candidates, there was overwhelming consensus that Guy was our top candidate,” Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said. “We wanted a great coach and this process yielded our top pick. I couldn’t be happier. On behalf of the entire Senators organization, the great city of Ottawa and our fans, I want to welcome Guy, his wife Marsha and their three children, Vincent, Mila and Naomi.”
At 44, Boucher is still in the younger range of NHL head coaches, so the Sens bring in a familiar name who doesn’t necessarily feel like as much of a “retread.”
I covered some of Tampa's long playoff run in 2011. Guy Boucher is a preparation and details guy. In many ways, exactly what Sens needed.
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) May 8, 2016
For what it’s worth, it sounds like the term of contract may have been the deciding factor between Boucher vs. Boudreau.
Guy Boucher has a 3-year contract as #Sens coach. Bruce Boudreau reportedly got 4 from #mnwild.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) May 8, 2016
Here’s a quick rundown of his credentials, via the Sens:
Boucher, 44, becomes the 12th head coach in Senators franchise history. Boucher has spent parts of the last three seasons as the head coach of SC Bern of the National League A in Switzerland, posting a 44-29-5 record. Prior to that, he spent two-plus seasons as the head coach of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning, posting a 97-78-20 record in 195 games. Boucher led the Lightning to the Eastern Conference Final in 2010-11.