The State of Hockey is overflowing with excitement for their new coach Bruce Boudreau and the success that he can bring the team. Still with his stumbles in the playoffs with his last two clubs, what will be different this time that he can get the Wild to a championship?
Bruce Boudreau’s hiring by the Minnesota Wild has been called one of the most impactful moves of this offseason. So much so some have even suggested that Boudreau will have an impact on the Wild that will be much stronger than any free agent who has signed with any other team. There’s no doubt that statement is true as Boudreau has been called one of the best regular season coaches in history and owns the highest points percentage of any active NHL coach at .659.
His record of 409-192-80 in nine NHL seasons with eight division titles, four straight with the Ducks, is spectacular. Add to that as well that Boudreau is a former Jack Adams Trophy winner, and has the distinction of reaching 400 regular season wins faster than any head coach in NHL history. So did any one notice all those accomplishments are in the regular season?
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In the playoffs he’s posted a slight winning record of 38-35, but in decisive pressure-filled Game 7s Boudreau is 1-7. His teams in Anaheim and Washington never made it past the Conference finals despite being so successful in the regular season and being filled with so much talent. It seems like a tale of Two Boudreaus.
The Wild are seeking regular season consistency which there is almost no doubt Boudreau will bring with him. But what about the playoffs? The second part of the Wild’s franchise goals are to become more successful in the playoffs, and it seems that Boudreau has had some documented slip-ups in the postseason. Can it be different with the Wild or will it just be a case of new team same playoff results?
On the surface the situation Boudreau is inheriting is much the same situation he walked into when he showed up in Orange County. That Ducks team much like this Wild team was a talented team that just needed to get over the playoff hump. He was never quite able to get the Ducks over the playoff hump and get that championship, but as he explained to SI.com “We didn’t win the Stanley Cup, but we did everything but”.
Still this Wild team is different than the teams he coached in Washington and Anaheim. In Washington it is widely believed that a high profile spat with superstar Alex Ovechkin eventually led to the superstar mailing it in and advocating for a coaching change. In Anaheim you can point to the fact that it seemed like he was dealing with subpar goaltending that especially tanked in the playoffs. So there’s certainly a few factors as to why his playoff record has suffered.
In Minnesota Boudreau will have a team that is coming off a bad season and will be looking for a rebound. They’ll be more motivated to get the dose of positive energy that Boudreau professes to be a provider of. “The one thing I’m going to bring is genuineness,” he says. “But I’m a pretty open book to read, pretty passionate kind of guy and a guy that fortunately has been able to win. The one thing I do know is they’ve got a good core of players and they’re not over the hill, they’re continuing to get better.”
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The fact that Boudreau already has thought about how he needs to approach the team is a very good sign. He knows his new voice can be impactful and he can be the difference in the Wild getting further than they ever have in the season. He explains to SI.com that “I think the biggest thing is that a different voice, even though I know that phrase is way overused, but the whole staff is different so it should be a whole new culture. I think we will play a little different than the previous teams did and hopefully the energy means we win more.”
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So the answer of why Boudreau will have better playoff performance with the Wild is that he knows he’s the difference. Unlike Mike Yeo who thought he needed to tweak the system to win, Boudreau knows he needs to tweak his approach to his players to win. It’s what he’s learned in his last stint in Anaheim when he explains “I really thought I learned a lot and got a lot of new perspective on coaching.” It’s that new perspective that could get him and the Wild over the playoff hump.