Minnesota Wild interim head coach John Torchetti is the leading candidate to become the team’s full-time bench boss, yet general manager Chuck Fletcher is also looking outside the organization.
Torchetti will meet with Fletcher this week, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the team is also showing interest in Bruce Boudreau.
Boudreau, 61, was fired by the Anaheim Ducks last week after being upset by the Nashville Predators in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Although his playoff record was an underwhelming 24-19 with the Ducks, Boudreau went 208-104-40 in the regular season in his four-and-a-half years in Anaheim. It’s believed the Ottawa Senators, who parted ways with Dave Cameron, are also interested in Boudreau’s services.
Torchetti took over as interim head coach of the Wild in mid-February when the organization fired Mike Yeo. Minnesota surged down the stretch to make the playoffs under Torchetti’s leadership. They were outmatched and eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the opening round.
“I haven’t had time to really decompress and formulate all my thoughts,” Fletcher told reporters last week. “As remarkable as it sounds, [Torchetti] and I have never spoken about next year or the future or his vision.
“All our thoughts have been so incredibly short-term out of necessity that I think we both needed some time to decompress here. We have a good chance to talk soon and talk about the future and his vision and how he wants to push the team forward. So the process is taking shape.”