More than three years after his emotional exit from Vancouver, Bruce Boudreau still isn’t shy about sharing his thoughts on the Canucks organization.

Appearing on the Fellowship of the Rink podcast on May 28, the former Vancouver Canucks head coach offered a glowing endorsement of the club’s new leadership structure led by Ryan Johnson, along with Daniel and Henrik Sedin. In doing so, he also delivered another pointed critique of the outgoing regime that oversaw his departure.

Boudreau was asked about Vancouver’s recent front-office changes, which saw Ryan Johnson promoted to general manager while Henrik and Daniel Sedin assumed larger roles as co-presidents.

His answer left little doubt where he stands on the Canucks moving on from Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin.

“Ryan Johnson was the GM of Abbotsford when I was there, and he was the only one that was easy to talk to,” Boudreau said. “He was the only one that would have a conversation where you weren’t worried, ‘Well, what do I have to say now to make sure that it doesn’t get back to anybody?’”

Johnson served as Abbotsford’s general manager during Boudreau’s tenure in Vancouver and has steadily risen through the organization over the past four years. Boudreau credited Johnson’s communication style as a major reason he believes the first-time NHL general manager will succeed.

The veteran coach was equally complimentary of the Sedins, describing two executives who have spent years learning every level of the organization before taking on larger responsibilities.

“They would go to Abbotsford, they’d go on the ice, they’d show the kids faceoffs, they would show our guys faceoff plays,” Boudreau said. “They would be there to talk to, and the players in both Abbotsford and Vancouver felt comfortable talking to them.”

Those comments carried an unmistakable contrast to Boudreau’s experience under the previous leadership group.

“Players felt comfortable talking to them because they weren’t judging you outwardly, they weren’t sitting there making public statements about you that didn’t need to be made,” Boudreau said.

While Boudreau never explicitly named individuals during that portion of the interview, the comments echo frustrations he has voiced since his departure from Vancouver in January 2023. His dismissal became one of the most uncomfortable coaching transitions in recent NHL memory, with weeks of public speculation surrounding his replacement before the move was officially made.

Notably, Boudreau saved his sharpest comment for when he compared the new regime to the previous one.

“I think those three guys are going to be so much better than to have Jim there, and then Patrik Allvin, who did whatever Jim wanted anyway, so it didn’t really matter if Patrik was there or not.”

While discussing the careers of Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper and Minnesota’s John Hynes, Boudreau noted that both have benefited from strong play between the pipes. Cooper has spent much of his career with future Hall of Fame goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, while Hynes appears to have another potential franchise netminder in Jesper Wallstedt.

“Some guys are blessed to have Vasilevskiy in the net for his whole career,” Boudreau said. “Get Colin Delia and see where you’re gonna go.”

With Thatcher Demko battling injuries throughout the 2022-23 campaign, the Canucks were forced to rely heavily on a goaltending tandem of Spencer Martin and Colin Delia. Vancouver finished 27th in team save percentage that season and allowed the third-most goals in the NHL before Boudreau was dismissed in January after multiple instances of public lamenting from Rutherford about the team’s lack of structure under Boudreau.

Thanks largely to the remarkable turnaround he engineered after arriving midway through the 2021-22 season, however, Boudreau became a fan favourite in Vancouver. Who could forget the “Bruce, there it is!” chants?

But make no mistake about it — the exit was ugly. They say time heals all wounds, but judging by his latest comments, Boudreau is going to need some more time.

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