This past week, TSN’s Darren Dreger leaked the likely list of candidates that the Oilers will look at for the head coaching vacancy. On the list are big time coaches like Todd McLellan and Mike Babcock, along with in-house option Todd Nelson. The list includes Claude Julien, who we will look at Monday, and a mystery name.
Who could the mystery name be? Well L.A. Lariviere of TVA Sports might have an idea. The following was tweeted by the TVA Sports reporter back on Friday, May 1st.
Guy Boucher tells me he’s been contacted regarding openings w/ NHL teams. I highly suspect Oilers, Flyers among them. Awaiting
#Babcockwatch
Boucher’s Resume:
Guy Boucher was all the rage back in the spring of 2011, as he led the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Eastern Conference Finals and looked like the next great coach in the NHL. Things came undone quickly after that trip however.
Boucher began coaching in 1996, serving as an assistant with the McGill Redmen for a season. He then transitioned to the QMJHL, where he served as an assistant from 1997-2000 for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Boucher took some time off from the Q after the 1999-2000 season, going the AAA Midget route as a head coach.
He resurfaced in 2003 to join the Rimouski Oceanic as an assistant coach, a role he would hold until 2006. He enjoyed success in Rimouski, as the team made an appearance in the Memorial Cup while he was there. He also got a chance to coach Sidney Crosby, who played for the team.
Boucher got his first head coaching gig at the QMJHL level in 2006, taking over the bench of the Drummondville Voltigeurs, a role he would hole until the conclusion of the 2008-09 season. During his time there, the team would win the President’s Cup (QMJHL champions) and make an appearance in the Memorial Cup.
In 2009, Boucher went pro, getting the head coaching job in Hamilton with the Bulldogs of the AHL, joining the Montreal organization. Boucher coached just one season, the 2009-10 campaign, with the team, but enjoyed success.
The Bulldogs went 52-17-11, despite losing key players to the NHL, and Boucher helped develop a young blue-liner named PK Subban. As a result, he was named AHL coach of the year, and was offered two NHL jobs, settling on the one in Tampa Bay.
Boucher led the Bolts to the East Finals in 2011, but never returned Tampa Bay to the playoffs after that. His final record in Tampa Bay, where he held the post from 2010 to 2013, was 97-78-20. That’s not an awful mark, but it wasn’t great. Tampa Bay made the playoffs only one time, as mentioned above.
Since losing the job, Boucher has served as the head coach of SC Bern in the Swiss Ice Hockey League. He also served as the head coach of Team Canada at the 2014 Spengler Cup.
What Does He Do Well:
Guy Boucher is an interesting coach. He had a relatively quick rise to prominence, and is still rather young, only 43 years old. Boucher is known for his radical defensive systems, most notably the extreme version of the 1-3-1 formation that he used with the Lightning.
He has the ability to coach young skill, something he did quite well in Tampa Bay. Steven Stamkos is a special player, and he went to the next level under Boucher’s watch. Not only did Stamkos emerge as the elite goal scorer that he is, but he also learned the two way game under Boucher.
That said, as I mentioned above, Boucher’s calling card is sound, systematic defensive hockey. The 1-3-1 formation he used in Tampa Bay was designed as a newer form of the ‘trap’, and it was his bread and butter. He wants to create offense from defense, he’s that kind of worry about your own end first guy.
While his calling card is defense, Boucher’s teams are usually very solid possession teams, which fits in with the vision the Oilers have. Edmonton wants to build a puck possession team, and Boucher was able to get Tampa Bay, a skilled team, to play that way, at least in the early goings.
Boucher’s defensive group in Tampa Bay was less than stellar, and actually reminds me of the unit Edmonton currently has. There were veterans on their last legs and young guys still yet to emerge, there wasn’t that legit horse on the back-end. Yet, even with those short comings, he got them to play a solid defensive game.
Is The Fit Right?:
This is an interesting question. Guy Boucher is a possession coach who focuses on playing a defensive game that doesn’t require the best defenders in the world. On the face, that’s a really good fit with the roster in Edmonton, which needs defensive structure put in place.
Boucher has had the experience of coaching skill, and has had success in adding the two-way element to the games of young stars, notably Steven Stamkos and, at the junior level, Sidney Crosby. Edmonton has tons of young skill that needs defensive work, so that could be another fit.
That said, I’m not sure Boucher and Edmonton are a good match right now. Boucher is going to be trying to reemerge in the NHL, while the Oilers desperately need a proven coach that can give this club some stability. Boucher, for all the good to his style, is still a risk at this time. I’m not sure Edmonton can take a risk here.
Should Edmonton strike out on McLellan/Babcock, I could see Boucher entering the conversation, but I’ll be shocked if it is anything more than due diligence with this candidate.
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