Bruce Boudreau was involved in two of the most memorable moments in the landmark HBO 24/7 series. The first was his epic 45-second profanity-laced rant in the locker room during the second period intermission against the Florida Panthers. The other was his section holiday shopping for his wife, where he hilariously complained about not being able to find anything she wanted.
It's taken all this time for Boudreau to respond, and now, he finally has some explanations. During a really entertaining keynote address at the AHL Hall of Fame ceremony last weekend, Boudreau said that he's been "slapped by two women already for this thing," and decided to clear some things up.
"I got my list from my wife, and every store I went into, they didn't have what she wanted. Now, go figure, it's on the 24th. Maybe I should have started a little earlier. I understand that," he said. "But by the time we got to the shoes place, I [had] went into Williams-Sonoma and they didn't have what she wanted. I went into all these purse stores - how do you pay that much for a purse? It's ridiculous. I'm not spending that kind of money. I wouldn't spend that on a burger."
"My two hours is almost up, and I've gotten nothing," he continued You have to have something under the tree, you just have to. So when I went into that last store, she said she wanted a pair of red shoes -- size six or something, and all they had was magenta size five. I said 'Just wrap it up, and put it under the tree,' and they filmed that. But it wasn't for lack of effort. I tried so hard to find her the right gift. So, then I get abused."
Boudreau also joked that he asked the HBO camera crews to leave the locker room before his rant, which they didn't, and lamented that they "left tape on the floor that showed the better side of me." But he also said the show was "great" and playing in the Winter Classic was a "tremendous experience."
"I remember Colin Campbell coming up and saying 'This is a bigger event than the Stanley Cup Finals,' he said. "So I phoned him twice for my rings, and I haven't gotten any of those things back, so I don't think it's quite as big an event as the Stanley Cup Finals. But it's a tremendous experience."