Bruce Boudreau Eyeing Seattle Kraken Coaching Job

Long-time NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau recently met with Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic and there was one reason why - to let the NHL know he wants to be the Seattle Kraken's first head coach.

Boudreau thinks the Kraken can contend right away much like what we saw out of Vegas with the Golden Knights and made sure to vouch for himself to be picked as their inaugural bench boss:

The thing about that job is it would be great to start with a team that is starting fresh and to be the builder of something. I think that is a real exciting thing. Even though it was in the minors, I got a chance to start a team in a new league in Muskegon and in Mississippi, too. It was in an older league and I got the same chance with a new franchise in Manchester, New Hampshire, as well. Every one of them was fun and it was exciting for people in the area. It is exciting for you because it is something brand-new.

It's not like you sit there and say, 'I do or do not want this job because it is a West Coast type thing. If someone offers you a job, it is an amazing thing. Especially with the success Vegas had. It is not like an expansion team in 1967. You knew then you were not going to be very good (and) have the dregs of every team. The way they have gone about it now, Seattle is going to start off with a pretty good team.

The last time Boudreau was in the news was when he almost landed as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs before this season began. The 66-year-old was fired from the Minnesota Wild in February of 2020, and has also coached in Anaheim and Washington. 

The Kraken's expansion draft takes place July 21, 2021. They'll likely have a head coach long before July.

Photo credit:  Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire