Yesterday the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they had fired assistant coach Guy Boucher, It wasn't much of a surprise to anybody, especially after the power-play fell off in the later part of the season, but the real reason the Leafs decided to move on from him has now been revealed.
According to Sportsnet's Elliott's Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast Boucher had made it known when Sheldon Keefe was fired that he wanted to crack at the head coaching vacancy, which, of course the Leafs filled by hiring Craig Berube.
Boucher was close to becoming the Maple leafs head coach in 2015 prior to Mike Babcock accepting the position. He then joined the Leafs last year in an attempt to help them coordinate their offence and power play. Although Boucher did have good stretches with the power-play, more often than not, it failed when it really mattered. Friedman continues by saying that he wasn't sure that the Maple leafs considered Boucher a real candidate for the head coaching position.
Quite honestly, it's no surprise that Boucher wanted head coaching consideration, but after his work on the power-play this season, there was little to no chance that the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to seriously consider his head coach which led to the organization parting ways with him.
Source: The Hockey News
Report: Guy Boucher Indicated He Wanted to Be Considered For Maple Leafs Head Coach Following Sheldon Keefe's Dismissal
POLL | ||
JUIN 16 | 158 ANSWERS Insider reveals the real reason Guy Boucher was fired by the Maple Leafs Do you think the Toronto Maple Leafs firing Guy Boucher was the right choice? | ||
Yes | 85 | 53.8 % |
No | 42 | 26.6 % |
His power-play decisions were horrible | 22 | 13.9 % |
He deserved to be fired | 9 | 5.7 % |
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