When Bruce Boudreau was fired as the head coach of the Washington Capitals on Monday, one of the reasons suspected was that his strong relationship with star Alex Ovechkin had deteriorated. Former ESPN analyst Barry Melrose implied as such in a radio interview on Tuesday. But in his first public comments on the actual firing itself, Boudreau strongly denied that he had a rift with his star, saying Ovechkin actually called him on Tuesday.
Boudreau said Ovechkin called him after the news of Boudreau's firing. Boudreau said the two spoke for 15 minutes on Tuesday and the star winger thanked his former coach for his time with the Capitals.
"And I told him I loved him and blah, blah, blah, all the regular stuff," Boudreau said.
Boudreau said reports of there being a rift are "so far from the truth." Later, in response to a question about when he benched Ovechkin earlier in the season, Boudreau said he "never had a problem" with Ovechkin liking him or not.
For more on Boudreau's firing, visit this StoryStream. For more fan reaction and more on anything Capitals hockey, head over to Japers' Rink.