Jim Rutherford APOLOGIZES to Bruce Boudreau for insensitive comments while Rick Tocchet takes seat, NHL Twitter reacts


Jim Rutherford APOLOGIZES to Bruce Boudreau for insensitive comments while Rick Tocchet takes seat, NHL Twitter reacts

Jim Rutherford and Bruce Boudreau [Image Credit: CBC/PennLive]

Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford’s spectacular mishandling of former coach Bruce Boudreau’s firing has lit social media on fire. Canucks fans are not happy with their behavior following the 68-year-old’s firing.

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Rumors about Rutherford’s actions and the impending revelation have been haunting the organization and the fan base for quite a while. Finally, on Sunday, Rick Tocchet replaced Boudreau while Rutherford apologized to the latter for making insensitive comments on his method of team management.

After saying all he had to, Jim Rutherford finally realizes that taking a step back and not speaking is also a good option, “Now part of this process, and I will apologize to Bruce for this, is probably in my interviews over the course of the season, when people asked me a question, I’m probably too direct and too honest”. 

“And so that goes back to my comment about the team playing with structure, more structure, and things like that…I’ve tried to answer the best I can and sometimes that affects certain people, and in this case, it probably did affect him, and I’m sorry I did that.” 

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“I’ve learned from it, so I’ve decided that I need to zip it. I’m not going to talk about the team. I’m going to let Patrik and Rick Tocchet talk about the team and just stay away from those things.”

“I’ve known Bruce for a long time. He’s been a friend and I feel very bad about it. And if I’ve offended anybody in the process, I apologize personally on behalf of the Canucks.”

Related: Bruce Boudreau to be FIRED from Canucks following train of upsetting losses in 2022-23 season, NHL Twitter reacts

Bruce Boudreau expresses his feeling as he exists Canucks stage

Bruce Boudreau [Image Credit: Daily Hive]
Bruce Boudreau [Image Credit: Daily Hive]

The Canucks are currently 14 points behind Colorado Avalanche for the 2nd wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Following Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Edmonton Oilers, Bruce Boudreau bid his farewell in an extremely emotional way. 

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The fans chanted, “Bruce, there it is”, as he fought back tears while answering during the postgame interview. Boudreau noted, “You never know if it’s the end”. “So when you’ve been in it for almost 50 years, you know, the majority of your life, and now if it’s the end, I had to stay out there and look at the crowd and just try to say, ‘OK, try remember this moment type of thing.’

“I just wanted to savor looking at the stands,” Boudreau noted. He said he never knows when he’ll get this chance again. He also pointed out that he didn’t lose the room, just a couple of matches. Boudreau didn’t forget to brag about how proud he is of the players and noted that more than anyone out in the arena, the players wanted to win the most.

“I just had 15 [players] come up to me, we’re all crying together, which is silly for us men to do sometimes, but I think they would have went through a wall for me and, as a coach, that’s all you can ask for, quite frankly,” he added.

While Boudreau had an emotional breakup from the Canucks, Tocchet is ready to take over the job as he stated he’ll be relying on the players and building deep relationships with them in the course of time. He looks forward to Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes taking on bigger roles. Fans can’t wait to see the changes he’ll bring, especially after the disastrous firing of Boudreau.

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