from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

Bruce Boudreau is one of the kindest human beings working in the NHL today.

He’s also employed by a team that’s (a) in transition, and (b) being run by a GM and president – respectively, Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford – who were hired after he was. Consequently, Boudreau finds himself in a delicate work situation.

Rutherford came out Tuesday and told media that Boudreau is welcome to return to the Canucks under the terms he agreed on – a two-year contract that will expire at the end of the 2022-23 season. However, that would make Boudreau a lame-duck coach next year. And that makes his future with the Canucks extremely cloudy.

Boudreau held up his end of the bargain when he was hired by Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini in early December. Boudreau took a team that looked disinterested in rising to the levels of their opponents, and he led Vancouver to a 32-15-10 record, and brought the Canucks to the fringes of the playoff race right up until the final week of the regular season. Boudreau instilled the team with confidence in itself, and the results were excellent.

However, holding onto a head coaching gig in the NHL means having the confidence of the GM and team president, and almost always, that means a head coach can only be secure in his position if he has been hired by the president and/or GM. Boudreau doesn’t have that working in his favor.

Allvin and Rutherford would earn the wrath of Canucks fans if they summarily dismissed him this summer. Instead, in making it clear there would be no contract extension for Boudreau, Canucks brass have set up Boudreau to be fired at the first extended run of sub-par play next season.

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