The Bruce Boudreau era was officially over after 13 months when he was fired the day after the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 victory against the Vancouver Canucks on January 21, 2023. After the final whistle, the TV cameras panned over to the Canucks bench where an emotional Bruce Boudreau thanked the fans and was taking in his final moments as the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

Watching it as a Canucks fan, I could not help but feel for him because he did not deserve to be treated the way he was by the team’s management in his final days as the head coach. Management blaming him for the team’s very disappointing season was expected, but the criticism of him in public and leaks to the media that he was going to be replaced by Rick Tocchet were too much.

Bruce Boudreau was a lame duck coach in his final few weeks on the job, but he always stayed professional and never responded to all of the noise from the media which speaks to his character. It is easy to see why he was so respected by the players and beloved by the fans.

In all my time as a Canucks fan, I have never been more disappointed in the team’s management than now. I can somewhat forgive the team’s on ice performance because I believe the talent on the roster is just not where it needs to be to compete for a Stanley Cup. The current management team inherited a mess from the Jim Benning era and I knew it would take time to fix, but the moves they have made so far and the treatment of Boudreau does not inspire confidence that they are doing a better job. It was known from the time when Broudeau was hired that he would not be the long term solution as the coach because he was hired by the owner and not the management, which was odd in itself. However, he deserved to be treated with more respect and class.

Although the Bruce Boudreau era will only be a short chapter in the Canucks’ team history, it sure was a memorable one. He will be remembered for turning the team around in his first season and making a legitimate late season push to get into the playoffs that came up just short. The team was more fun and exciting to watch under his guidance and gave Canucks fans like myself some hope which was all we could ask for given the situation.

Thank you Bruce, for all that you did in your time as Cancuks head coach. We will always remember, “Bruce, there it is!”