The Anaheim Ducks followed a strong regular season with two incredibly promising postseason series and one which ultimately ended in failure.
The Ducks playoff demise likely spells doom for several members of the roster, but could it prove deadly for head coach Bruce Boudreau as well?
"I'm not 100 percent convinced he's not getting (fired). I don't know. I don't know. I'm just saying that I know the relationship there is not great between Murray and Boudreau," Sportsnet.ca's Elliotte Friedman said while appearing on Toronto's Sportsnet 590 on Monday, via TodaysSlapShot.com.
"I think it would be crazy. I think Murray would be smart to wait one more year and just see how this group does and how he does with them. But I know that their relationship isn't great, so that always complicates things."
With 2014-15 come to a close for Anaheim, Boudreau's career regular season record now stands at 363-167-69. In five seasons at the helm of the Washington Capitals, Boudreau led the team to four first-place finishes in the Southeast Division and five consecutive playoff trips. His final year in D.C., he only lasted 22 games before being fired.
Boudreau was quickly snapped up by Anaheim GM Bob Murray with 58 games remaining in the 2011-12 season. After a fifth-place finish in the Pacific Division that year, Boudreau turned the Ducks into a team that has now finished atop the Pacific three seasons in a row.
Unfortunately for Boudreau, regular season success has not translated to playoff victories as his Anaheim team seems to be suffering from a similar fate as that of their Capitals predecessors. The Ducks have yet to make it past the Western Conference Finals, though they've progressed farther into the playoffs each year since Boudreau arrived.
In Washington, Boudreau never took his guys past the Conference Semifinals.
Ultimately, regular season success only counts for so much - postseason failure has been the demise of many NHL head coaches. Just look at St. Louis were Ken Hitchcock barely survived this offseason after his too-strong and too-deep Blues team again failed to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Still, Friedman seems shocked by the lack of appreciation Murray and others around the league show for the embattled Boudreau.
"I think the lack of respect he gets - to me, it's craziness. His record - it's not perfect, but if you put it up and down with the other coaches in the NHL, it's pretty good."
Friedman, in his 30 Thoughts column on Sportsnet.ca, revealed a text message he received from an NHL coach who likened the Ducks Game 7 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday to last year's Game 7 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings.
"Even with Randy (Carlyle), they were not at the defensive level of Los Angeles, Phoenix or San Jose (in their old division)," the coach told Friedman.
Friedman suggests that the Ducks may be suffering from a similar ailment as that of the San Jose Sharks - that is, that there's a fundamental issue with the locker room and the roster makeup. An issue that no head coach could overcome.
In fairness to Murray and those questioning Boudreau's track record and with all due respect to Friedman, good enough is not good enough in the NHL or any sport. The ultimate goal is winning the Stanley Cup - not posting a great regular season record or securing a playoff berth.
If Murray feels that Boudreau isn't the guy able to push the right buttons and coax his team to greater heights once the lights burn their brightest, firing him and courting someone new is not only advisable, it's really the only play to make.
