Vancouver Canucks Firing Head Coach

The NHL world should feel some compassion towards Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau. One of the best in the business has been put into a tough spot as a lame duck this season and it appears things are taken a turn.

Reports have surfaced the Canucks will be letting Boudreau go this week and will be replacing him with Rick Tocchet. There's been multiple reports the news could come as soon as Monday.

There's been a rift between management and Boudreau since the beginning of this season, in what's been one of the most bizarre ever for an NHL franchise. The Canucks are a complete mess and it starts with the disconnect between Jim Rutherford, Patrik Allvin and Boudreau.

As for the players, Canucks captain Bo Horvat recently commented on the future of his head coach and had this to say:

Obviously everybody hears it. It can't be easy - it's not easy on us in here, I'm sure it's not easy on (Boudreau), hearing that kind of stuff. We continue to battle for him. He's a really good person and a good coach. Everybody wants to play for him so we're going to continue to do that.

As Boudreau puts it, he just wakes up every morning and goes to work and he'll continue to do so until told otherwise. The unfortunate news is expected this week.

Photo credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports