Bruce Boudreau agrees to become new head coach of Wild

ByScott Burnside ESPN logo
Sunday, May 8, 2016

Once again, Bruce Boudreau wasn't out of work for long.

Boudreau, who was fired as head coach of the Anaheim Ducks on April 29, two days after the Ducks' Game 7 loss at home to the Nashville Predators, was hired Saturday night to be Minnesota's new head coach, general manager Chuck Fletcher announced Saturday.

Boudreau will be introduced Tuesday at a news conference, the team said.

The Wild were eliminated in the first round under interim head coach John Torchetti, who replaced Mike Yeo midway through the regular season.

Boudreau, 61, was immediately courted by a number of teams after he was fired, and a source told ESPN.com he had a six-hour interview with the Ottawa Senators earlier this week.

Fletcher also met with Boudreau before inking him to a deal Saturday. Boudreau had another year left on his contract with Anaheim, but according to a source, the new deal with Minnesota means the Ducks will not have to pay Boudreau moving forward.

After the Wild announced Boudreau's hiring, the Ducks issued a statement.

"On behalf of the club, congratulations to Bruce and the Minnesota Wild," said Ducks general manager Bob Murray. "Although coaching changes are extremely difficult, we felt that Bruce would be back behind the bench quickly. Everyone in the organization is very pleased he's getting another deserved opportunity."

Boudreau was hired by the Ducks on Nov. 30, 2011, two days after he was fired by the Washington Capitals.

Boudreau was the fastest to reach 200 wins among coaches in the modern NHL era. His teams have won eight division titles, four each in Anaheim and Washington, although his teams have struggled to match regular-season achievements with postseason success.

The Ducks lost four straight Game 7s under Boudreau. All of those losses came at home.