On the Minnesota Wild and Ottawa Senators …
Darren Dreger: Wild GM Chuck Fletcher met with Bruce Boudreau yesterday. Boudreau is expected to meet with the Senators this week.
Chad Graff of the Pioneer Press: Fletcher has said that John Torchetti is a “serious” candidate, but the Wild need a more experienced coach.
“I think it’s important that we find a coach that can hold the players accountable and put a system in place and get them to execute the system and hold them accountable to it,” Fletcher said in his season-ending news conference April 28. “It’s up to the players to buy into what we’re doing and to do the right things from a team perspective.”
Fletcher may also have met with Randy Carlyle while he was in California.
On the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators …
Bob McKenzie: Get the sense that the Ducks and Senators will be looking for a coach that has NHL head-coaching experience.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen: The Ducks have given the Senators permission to speak with Bruce Boudreau.
The Wild are also interested in Boudreau and talked to him yesterday. The Flames could also enter the mix after firing Bob Hartley yesterday.
The Senators are expected to meet with Boudreau later this week.
The Senators are already spoken with Mike Yeo, Guy Boucher and Marc Crawford.
The Senators are also interested in Benoit Groulx (Gatineau of QMJHL), Kevin Dineen (Chicago), John Stevens (LA) and Brad Shaw (St. Louis). Bob McKenzie is saying that Randy Carlyle will be interviewed.
On the Bruce Boudreau …
Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Bruce Bourdreau wouldn’t say if he’s spoken with the Wild or Senators.
“I’ve had a couple conversations,” he said. “I can’t delve into it right now. Let’s put it this way, this is why my voice is so bad. I couldn’t talk at all Sunday. I’ve been on the phone all day Frdiay and Saturday. For 15 hours a day, it was pretty crazy.
“Whether it was the support of people talking to me about different things, it was pretty crazy. And fairly exciting.”