“Want Him in a Heartbeat”: Former Canucks Coach Bruce Boudreau Is All Praise for Star NHL Forward as He Teases Return

When an NHL team has a bad season like the Vancouver Canucks are experiencing, supporters aren’t pleased. Prior to the first month of this year, the team’s administration gained attention when they abruptly fired fan favorite Bruce Boudreau as head coach.

Bruce Boudreau has returned to the NHL scene after a month-long absence, and he’s got a great interview to show for it. For a longtime athlete under his tutelage, the former Canucks coach now has some confessional material. Boudreau also makes a sneaky remark about returning to the NHL.

A candid confession by the former Canucks coach

Canucks supporters were angry with the organization’s management because, in their eyes, management was unfairly laying all the burden on the coaches for the team’s failure. Many of them also believed Boudreau, despite the team’s losses, was doing his best for the team. In an interview that was posted on the Glovey McGlovin YouTube channel, Bruce Boudreau was refreshingly candid. The Canucks’ fan-favorite coach undoubtedly didn’t waste any time diving into the conversation over forward J.T. Miller.

In the interview, Boudreau says, “I really like J.T. and I want passionate players on my team. And J.T. is a passionate player, and sometimes his passion would, you know, get the better of him for short periods of time. But he would bounce right back. It would be ok, it’s done. Boom! He’s a really good guy. He’s a really liked player in the dressing room. He’s a really good hockey player. I mean if I was ever coaching again and I could get him on my team, I would want him in a heartbeat. He’s not a problem at all. He’s just a passionate hockey player. I would love to take a passionate player that wants to win every night over the guy that is very laissez-faire.”

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Boudreau still has a lot of respect for Canucks player J.T. Miller, even though he was fired. Miller’s ability to impress his former coach with his fierce competitiveness on the ice and his commitment to team success made him a prime candidate for a spot on Boudreau’s future squad. Boudreau says that Miller’s level of excellence is what he’s been looking for in every ice hockey player.

How NHL fans reacted to this statement?

Canucks supporters, who are already fuming, are divided over this statement. Some Canucks fans would love to see former coach Bruce Boudreau return to the NHL and shake things up, while others aren’t happy with his public views about the franchise. Here are some comments to prove it.

“I love JT. Glad to hear this from Bruce. We’ve definitely seen some lows from Miller this year, but I’m glad it’s not all bad.”

“I mean Bruce literally has no reason to say any of this. He’s not a part of the organization anymore. He could have easily not talked about him at all if he didn’t truly feel this way… But he voluntarily praised Miller. So there’s that.”

“I mean Bruce did play him on the penalty kill when everyone was saying how bad he was. Yet everyone was blaming management. I do think Bruce had a part in JT getting re-signed. Heck last year he even said, if your trading him make sure your getting Connor McDavid back.”

“wow, this is good to hear. I trust Bruce.”

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What do you think of this candid confession by Bruce Boudreau? Let us know in the comment section.