Tuesday afternoon, Alex Ovechkin received a lot of attention when he “thanked” Gary Bettman for banning NHL players from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The Olympic decision still stings Ovechkin. With that in mind, this is how former Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau greeted his former player this morning at XCEL Center.
Alex Ovechkin just walked out to the visiting team’s bench during the #MnWild skate to greet his former coach Bruce Boudreau.
Boudreau shouted to him: “I thought you were going to the Olympics!”
— Chris Long (@ChrisLongKSTP) February 15, 2018
Oh Bruce. You troll, you.
Live look at Ovi: pic.twitter.com/t2SmBQKOEu
— Giles Ferrell (@gilesferrell) February 15, 2018
The two have maintained a good relationship since Boudreau was fired mid-year during the 2011-12 campaign. The two even chatted on the phone soon after the news hit.
“I told him I loved him and blah, blah, blah, all the regular stuff,” Boudreau said according to NBC Sports. “People want to focus on the fact that I sat him out one shift. I don’t have a problem and never once did I think I have a problem with Alex liking me or not liking me.”
Ovechkin had his greatest season in Washington under Boudreau (65 goals in 2007-08) and scored over 50 goals in three of Boudreau’s five years in Washington.
Update: After the game, Wild media asked Bruce Boudreau about the Olympics joke, and he denied saying it.
📹 Bruce Boudreau following #WSHvsMIN. pic.twitter.com/bJWfX3q3PR
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 16, 2018
The quotes begin at the 3:13 mark.
“I didn’t say that,” Boudreau said. “That wasn’t me. So whoever was trying to allude it was me, it wasn’t me who said that.”
