How often does a coach with a 12-9 record get fired? It can't be too often, though tell that to Marty Schottenheimer. When Bruce Boudreau crossed super-duper star Alex Ovechkin by benching him in the critical moments of a game, his days were numbered. The coach never wins that battle, even if the team has been having a decent season. It is unlikely any insider would disagree that Bruce Boudreau probably has the lowest IQ in the NHL head coaching fraternity. That is not a statement of fact, but an educated guess. ESPN's Bill Simmons was talking about HBO's 24/7 series last year and said that he's convinced after watching it that a person could be functionally retarded and still coach a successful NHL team. He had a talent for inspirational dressing room speeches laced with F-bombs, but ultimately was not a good head coach. He'd make a great assistant coach.
Once Ovechkin turned on him, the writing was on the wall. What's ironic is that with Ovechkin on the bench in that critical moment, Washington scored the game trying goal and went on to win the game. The fact that they won didn't matter. For Boudreau it was an insurmountable loss. There is even a remote possibility that Ovechkin personally asked the owner to fire the coach. Just watch, Ovie is about to go on a tear.
No comments:
Post a Comment