Landing In Omsk

The last time this man stood behind a bench with the title of head coach was in 2018-19 with the Ottawa Senators before they fired him midseason. That's not to say that Guy Boucher hasn't been busy as he worked the 2023-24 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs as an assistant coach, but I'm pretty certain that once a coach reaches the pinnacle of running his team, that becomes his main focus. It appears that Boucher will get that opportunity again as he makes the jump to the KHL where he'll be calling the shots for Avangard Omsk after they hired him to be their head coach on November 27! And he'll find work to do there!

According to reports, Boucher's deal in Russia will run through to the end of the 2025-26 season, and it's expected that his systems and coaching will lead Omsk to a playoff spot after finding themselves in ninth-place in the KHL's Eastern Conference standings. The catch, however, is that Omsk has been retooling their roster over the last month to bring in some quality talent, and Boucher appears to be the latest piece in that talent pipeline coming into Omsk.

Former Winnipeg Jets goaltending prospect Mikhail Berdin is on the injured list right now while former Pittsburgh Penguins defensive prospect Alex Grant is also out with an injury. Add in the likes of defenders Sergei Boikov and Daniil Stepanov along with forwards Ilya Reingardt and Vladimir Tkachyov, and it's easy to see why Omsk needs some reinforcements. Boucher will have some solid talent at his disposal, however, as he settles into his new role, and some of that talent has NHL and AHL experience.

American and noted sex offender Reid Boucher leads the team with eleven goals and is second with 20 points while former Vancouver Canucks forward Linden Vey sits right behind Boucher with 19 points. Former Boston Bruins forward Ryan Spooner has only played 17 games thus far, but he sits sixth in scoring with 11 points. Former Edmonton Oilers first-overall pick Nail Yakupov joined Omsk earlier in November after being acquired from Kunlun Red Star while former San Jose Sharks defensive prospect Ryan Merkley joined the club last week.

Pavel Khomchenko has played the vast majority of games between the pipes, posting a 2.42 GAA and a .912 save percentage, but his 10-12-1 record in those games is indicative of their low-scoring ways. In 31 games to date, Omsk has scored just 72 goals while giving up 86, so they need to find the back of the net with more regularity. In the Eastern Conference, they're the fourth-lowest scoring team, so Guy Boucher will have to find a way to squeeze some more offence out of his newly-built roster.

Since the four years that Bob Hartley guided Omsk from 2018-2022, Omsk has seen four head coaches in the last two seasons including Boucher. That's not a great track record when it comes to coaching changes, but Boucher's NHL experience will likely give him some additional rope before Avangard management decides to remove him. Before we talk about the 53 year-old's dismissal, though, we'll see if he can move the 9-16-4-2 Avangard club past Lada Togliatti into eighth-place or even past Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk into seventh-place. As it stands, Omsk sits three points back of Lada for that eighth-place position.

Known for some of his defensive systems more than his offensive prowess, Boucher compiled a 191-186-46 record in the NHL while also being named as the 2009-10 AHL Coach of the Year with the Hamilton Bulldogs. He can be fiery behind the bench as well, but that might be something that Avangard management wanted when it comes to lighting a fire underneath the team. Either way, Boucher's the man in Omsk for the foreseeable future, so we'll have to keep an eye on the former McGill Redbirds assistant coach over in Russia!

I'm not sure Guy Boucher thought he'd be heading to Russia at the end of 2024, but he's got a deal that will keep him there for at least one more year. дом милый дом, I guess?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!