The Vancouver Canucks have finally announced the firing of Bruce Boudreau as the club's head coach, naming Rick Tocchet as his replacement.
It's the worst-kept secret in hockey. Possibly, in all sports.
The Vancouver Canucks finally did what they had been telegraphing for over a month on Sunday, officially informing Bruce Boudreau that he has been relieved of his duties as head coach effective immediately, along with longtime assistant coach Trent Cull.
As was long expected, Boudreau's replacement has already been selected, with former TNT analyst Rick Tocchet announced as the club's newest bench boss to be joined by new assistant coach Adam Foote and defensive development coach Sergei Gonchar.
A press conference is reportedly scheduled for Monday to announce these hirings to the media.
This anvil has been waiting to drop for quite some time.
Earlier this week, Canucks team president Jim Rutherford admitted during a press conference that he had already spoken with potential new head coaching candidates about their interest in the role, all while Boudreau was still behind the bench guiding the team. Given that Boudreau was hired before Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin took over the front office reins last season, this marriage was a rocky one from the beginning. Rutherford has expressed public criticism of Boudreau's coaching system previously and even told reporters that he had not known how long Boudreau's contract extended during the off-season, which led to a commitment for the 68-year-old to return to the club for the 2022-23 season coming late into the summer.
Boudreau ends his tenure in Vancouver after two partial seasons during which the Canucks compiled a 50-40-13 record in 103 games. Taking over in the midst of another disaster following the end of the Jim Benning era in 2021-22, Boudreau led the Canucks to a 32-15-10 record to end the season that kept them in the playoff hunt when they otherwise should have been basement dwellers, with a number of players expressing how much they enjoyed playing under his more free-flowing system.
It's unclear as to whether or not Boudreau will ever coach in the NHL again. But, in response to the support he's received from fans and players during this turbulent end, Boudreau has acknowledged that this particular stop in his career will forever be one of his most cherished memories.