ESPN’s Scott Burnside reports that Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had a 15-minute phone call today with his former head coach, Bruce Boudreau.
Ovechkin apparently thanked Boudreau for his time with the Caps, and Boudreau responded with the usual ex-coach platitudes.
“I told him I loved him and blah, blah, blah, all the regular stuff,” Boudreau said, holding a boombox over his head while blaring In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel.
Boudreau then flatly denied there was any rift between he and Ovechkin. “It’s so far from the truth,” Boudreau said. “We got along, I think, famously.”
As for the infamous third-period benching against Anaheim? Hardly indicative of their overall relationship.
“People want to focus on the fact that I sat him out one shift,” he said. “I don’t have a problem and never once did I think I have a problem with Alex liking me or not liking me.”
For what it’s worth, Ovechkin has corroborated most of this over the last two days. He told the Washington Post he and Boudreau had a very good relationship, would always cherish the memories and hoped they could still be friends, even though people are telling him that never works out.