Guy Boucher

Guy Boucher
Born	August 3, 1971 Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Quebec, Canada
Previous team(s)	SC Bern Tampa Bay Lightning Hamilton Bulldogs Drummondville Voltigeurs
Years as a coach	1997–present
Years as an NHL coach	2010–2013

Guy Boucher (born August 3, 1971) is the former head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing years

Before his coaching years, Boucher played right wing with the McGill Redmen between 1991 and 1995. He graduated with an arts degree (history and environmental biology) in 1995 and a science degree (agricultural engineering) in 1996. He also holds a Masters in sports psychology at the University of Montreal. In 1995-96, Boucher played in France for Viry-Essonne where he scored 16 goals and 38 points in 28 games.

Coaching years

Boucher began his coaching career as assistant coach with the McGill Redmen under head coach Martin Raymond in 1996–97, then moved on to serve as an assistant coach with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (1997–2000) and then with the Rimouski Océanic from 2003 to 2006 with whom he won the Jean-Rougeau trophy (regular season champions) and President's Cup. He also participated in the Memorial Cup tournament. In between, he coached the Lac-Saint-Louis Lions of the AAA Midget Hockey League. He returned to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League as the Drummondville Voltigeurs head coach in 2006. In the 2008–09, he guided the team to their best season in history, with a total of 54 wins and 112 points, capturing the President's Cup on his way to the Memorial Cup tournament once again. He won the Paul-Dumont Trophy, awarded to QMJHL's personality of the year.

On June 29, 2009, he was named head coach of the Montreal Canadiens's affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL becoming the eighth head coach in Bulldogs franchise history.^[1] He led the team to an impressive 52–17–11 record for 115 points despite having many of his best players being called up by the Montreal Canadiens. At the end of the season, he won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as coach of the year.^[2] After an impressive season in Hamilton, he was offered the vacant head coaching position for the Columbus Blue Jackets but turned it down to accept the head coaching position with the Tampa Bay Lightning, signing a four-year contract.^[3] In his rookie year as an NHL head coach, Boucher led the Tampa Bay Lightning to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

On March 24, 2013, the team's General Manager Steve Yzerman fired Boucher following a 5-3 loss against the Ottawa Senators.^[4] At the time, Tampa Bay was in 14th place in the Eastern Conference.

On January 27, 2014, the Swiss ice hockey club SC Bern announced the signing of Guy Boucher as their head coach. ^[5]

On November 18, 2015, Boucher was fired by the SC Bern following a 4-game losing streak and a 9th place in the NLA.^[6]

International

Boucher also worked as an assistant coach to Canada men's national U-18 ice hockey team in 2006, 2007 and 2008 where he won a gold medal. In 2009, he also served as an assistant coach with Canada men's national U-20 ice hockey team who won their fifth consecutive gold medal. In 2014 and 2015, he coached Team Canada at the Spengler Cup.

NHL coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season						Post Season
		G	W	L	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
TB	2010–11	82	46	25	11	103	2nd in Southeast	Lost Eastern Conference Finals
TB	2011–12	82	38	36	8	84	3rd in Southeast	(missed playoffs)
TB	2012–13	31	13	17	1	27	4th in Southeast	Fired
Total		195	97	78	20	214

Personal life

Guy Boucher is married to Marsha and has 3 children.

Boucher has a prominent scar on his right cheek. When asked how he received it, Boucher said "it's not hockey-related. I didn't tell anybody back home, so it's like this little enigma. My kids don't even know."^[7]

References

1. Canadiens hire Boucher as Bulldogs' head coach
2. http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Bulldogs+Boucher+named+coach+year/2774265/story.html
3. http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2010/06/boucher_says_no.shtml
4. "Tampa Bay Lightning Fire Coach Guy Boucher". AP. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
5. "Guy Boucher neuer Head Coach". Retrieved 28 January 2014.
6. http://www.swisshockeynews.ch/index.php/switzerland/nla-new/4914-sc-bern-fires-guy-boucher-lars-leuenberger-new-head-coach
7. "Q&A: Scar on face of Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher remains an enigma". St. Petersburg Times. 2011-03-25. Retrieved 2011-05-01.

External links

• Guy Boucher's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
• Guy Boucher's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database