When Bruce Boudreau arrived in Vancouver, he represented change.
Fans wanted GM Jim Benning or head coach Travis Green gone, and in one swift motion, both were let go with Boudreau taking over behind the Canucks’ bench.
The mood in the final game before Bodureau’s hiring was a stark contrast to the one that followed immediately after his hiring.
Fans were no longer booing their team and chanting for changes to be made.
Instead, they were once again cheering the Canucks on, and hoping for better days.
One well-documented event that happened during Boudreau’s first game behind the Canucks bench was the spawning of the now somewhat iconic “Bruce there it is” chant.
The chant, which is done to the tune of Tag Team’s hit song Whoomp There It Is, rains down to the ice during most home games at Rogers Arena — but only when the team is winning.
At first, Boudreau said the chant was something that caught him by surprise, and later referred to it as “that stupid song” when retelling the story about how fans who recognized him while at a restaurant started singing it.
Boudreau later clarified that he likes the chant because it means that the team is winning, but doesn’t like that it seemingly takes the attention away from the players putting in the work on the ice and onto him.
Clearly, the players don’t feel like that’s the case.
“Everyone loves it, the fans definitely do,” said Tanner Pearson today when talking about what he and his teammates think of the chant. “I’m not sure how much he likes it, but it’s a good joke in the room.”
“Probably,” added Pearson when asked if Boudreau’s apparent dislike for the chant only fuels the joke further. “I think everyone saw the clip of him saying how much he hates it or whatever — I think that goes for anyone — as soon as you tell somebody you don’t like it, it just keeps on going. That’s just how it goes.”
After a victory in December, the Canucks posted a video of Boudreau giving fist bumps to all the players as they walked off the ice. In the video, defenceman Luke Schenn can be heard saying “Bruce there it is” when he goes to fist bump his coach, to which Boudreau responded with “oh shut up”.
Pearson’s answer would suggest that the joke isn’t going to be stopping anytime soon.
The main reason the chant is heard at most Canucks home games in the first place is that the Canucks have won a bevy of home games under Boudreau.
And as long as that continues to be the case as the club continues their improbable march back into the playoff conversation, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone in the Canucks’ locker room complaining about the playful chant.