sportsjabber.net

At 6:30 a.m. on Monday morning, coach Bruce Boudreau discovered his time with the Washington Capitals had come to an end after 201 victories since Nov. 2007. He had emptied his bag of tricks to motivate the team. His general manager said his tank was on empty.

Yet Boudreau said he was ready to coach in the NHL again the moment the Capitals replaced him with Dale Hunter.

“Absolutely. It’s what I do,” he told the Washington Times. “I love hockey and I love my job,” he said. “Even when things are going bad, I love my job. I love going to work in the morning, and I feel comfortable when I’m behind my desk or behind the bench or talking to guys or being on the ice. It’s something that I would relish doing.”

At 1:21 a.m. on Thursday morning, the Anaheim Ducks announced that Boudreau had been hired to replace Randy Carlyle, even after Anaheim defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1. It’s a shocking move from the Ducks, even with their dismal record (7-13-4) — but an absolutely genius hire.

Alert the local Haagen-Dazs distributors. Tell the Anaheim Mercedes dealers the new spokesman’s here. Cover the kids’ ears if the camera happens to cut to the locker room between periods. (Or if they happen to pull up next to the coach’s car in rush hour traffic.)

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
• Margarito will be battling his demons and Cotto on Saturday
• Robust health of MLS could continue with Drogba
• Pujols pulling a LeBron would be good for MLB

More…