Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau made an appearance in the local media as he joined Rick Dhaliwal and Don Taylor on Tuesday’s edition of Donnie & Dhali — The Team. After an emotional and drawn-out departure from the organization last month, many were excited to hear what Boudreau would have to say.

One of the major themes through this conversation with Boudreau was his appreciation of the Vancouver fans and the way they treated him.

“I want to thank the Vancouver fans,” the former head coach said. “I will never forget them, ever.”

Here are a few of the highlights from this media appearance made by Boudreau.

“The Vancouver fans were always fabulous. One thing you learned to love about them is how passionate they are about the game. When we were losing and they want their team to win so badly that they would get upset and you would hear it and see it sometimes,” Boudreau said when discussing the Vancouver market. “I was overwhelmed by their support, overwhelmed by the way that they love their hockey.”

Boudreau was extremely complimentary of the fanbase, repeatedly mentioning how supportive they were. Beyond the fans, he also had good things to say about the media which has been under closer examination recently after some fiery comments from another former head coach in John Tortorella.

“They [the Vancouver media] can either be really, really hard on you or they can do it in a softer way. And I think because I was good to them, they were good to me.”

One of the big talking points that fans definitely wanted to hear Boudreau’s thoughts on was his departure from the team. It was an ugly breakup between the coach and the Canucks as he was forced to stay behind the bench long after the decision to replace him had been made.

“No,” Boudreau replied when asked if he was angry at anyone. “I’m grateful to Francesco for giving me the opportunity. It’s the first time I was out of work for a year and when you start to get a little long in the tooth by other people’s standards you don’t think you’re ever going to get the opportunity.”

There were no fireworks or headline-grabbing statements from Boudreau as he remained the ultimate professional, just as he did during his entire time in this city.

Some of the most interesting moments of the Boudreau interview came when he was asked about the players on the roster at the moment. To start, he was asked about assistant captain J.T. Miller, one of the loudest and most emotional players on the team.

“I think J.T.’s a great player and he’s easy to coach,” Boudreau commented. “He’s [J.T. Miller] very much like the Vancouver fans. He’s passionate and he wants to win.”

When it came to superstar Elias Pettersson, the now-NHL Network analyst continued to dish out the compliments.

“100 points is well within his grasp and he does have the determination to get there,” Boudreau said. “He wants it and he’s a player you can build your franchise around.”

If you’re interested in hearing the full interview wih Bruce Boudreau, be sure to listen to the entire interview at this link here.