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"I don’t know what’s coming out of my mouth, quite frankly": When Bruce Boudreau addressed his 15 F-bomb "passionate speech" in Capitals dressing room

Modified Dec 10, 2024 12:48 GMT

Back in 2011, when Bruce Boudreau was head coach of the Washington Capitals, his passion for his team's performance spilled over during one particular game. In a half-time talk against the Florida Panthers, he dropped 15 F-bombs in a matter of 90 seconds.

The incident was covered in HBO's 24/7 Road to Winter Classic mini-series. The 2011 showcase was to feature the Capitals going up against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Heinz Field, then home of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.

During the shooting of the first episode of the behind-the-scenes docuseries, the Caps were on a losing streak. Quite understandably, Bourdeau wanted to rally his troops. When the team returned back to the dugout after the first period of their game against the Panthers, the former centre player gave a fiery speech filled with profanities and cuss words.

After the episode's premiere, audiences were baffled. In response to their reaction, Boudreau tried to explain his choice of words, stating that he was filled with high-intensity emotions and did not deliberately intend to use profanities against his players.

“It was a passionate speech. It wasn’t anything that I’m sitting there and manufacturing up the word, just to say the word,” he said Thursday. “When you’re talking with passion, sometimes I don’t know what’s coming out of my mouth, quite frankly.”

Bruce Boudreau had asked HBO's production crew to not enter the dugout

Bruce Boudreau initially liked the idea of having HBO follow his team over the course of the month leading up to the Winter Classic. However, ahead of the game against the Panthers, he had asked the crew not to cover his speech. The HBO team had to courteously decline the request.

Later on, Boudreau stated that it didn't matter whether they were filming him or not:

“I couldn’t have cared less if they were in or out of my back pocket,” Boudreau had said. “I asked them to leave, and they said no. So I went at it.”

The Capitals' losing streak had prompted then-General Manager George McPhee to ask HBO to stop covering the behind-the-scenes segments. However, after the rough spell, Boudreau's team was able to turn it around. They ended up winning the 2011 Winter Classic with a 3-1 victory over the Penguins.

The Capitals would also go on to win the Southeast divison for the fourth straight season in what was Boudreau's final full season with the club. Since then, he has taken up head coaching jobs with the Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, and the Vancouver Canucks.