Bruce Boudreau named Canada’s head coach for Spengler Cup

Hockey Canada announced on Friday that Bruce Boudreau would serve as head coach for Team Canada at the 2023 Spengler Cup.

Boudreau will be joined behind the bench by Larry Mitchell, Jim Playfair and Jeff Tomlinson, who will serve as assistant coaches.

The 68-year-old Boudreau is in his first season as a senior advisor with the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He most recently coached the Vancouver Canucks, where he had a 50-40-13 record over parts of two seasons before being fired last January.

“We are excited to name Bruce, Larry, Jim and Jeff as the coaches who will lead Canada’s National Men’s Team as it looks to reclaim the Spengler Cup,” said Brad Pascall, co-general manager of the team. “All four bring many years of experience coaching in the NHL, AHL and Europe, and we know this diversity will be beneficial to our team.”

Boudreau has served as a head coach for 1,087 NHL games, split between the Canucks, the Minnesota Wild, the Anaheim Ducks and the Washington Capitals. He holds a a 617-342-128 record.

The furthest a Boudreau-coached team got into the Stanley Cup Playoffs was with the Ducks in 2015-16, losing in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals.

Through fifteen seasons of coaching, Boudreau has won eight division titles (four with the Capitals, four with the Ducks). He won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year with the Capitals in 2007-08.

Boudreau was also a head coach in the American Hockey League for nine seasons, winning the Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears in 2005-06.

The tournament takes place between Dec. 26 and 31 in Davos, Switzerland.