Canucks have already picked Bruce Boudreau's replacement.

The Vancouver Canucks have been under the microscope for a variety of reasons this season, none of them good, and it seems we now have even more dysfunction to discuss when it comes to the Canucks.

On Saturday night during a segment that aired on Hockey Night in Canada, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Canucks have already selected their replacement for head coach Bruce Boudreau. The news from Friedman was delivered in such a matter of fact manner that it left little doubt about Boudreau's tenure as head coach in Vancouver coming to an end.

"We've been talking the last few days about Rick Tocchet and the possibility of him there," said Friedman on HNIC. "When and if the coaching change comes I do believe it's going to be Rick Tocchet."

That would make a great deal of sense given the history that current Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford has with Tocchet as a head coach from their time as members of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. In fact Rutherford and Tocchet would capture a pair of Stanley Cup championships together, so you know there is a deep history and a deep level of respect there as well.

This is a rather unfortunate situation for head coach Bruce Boudreau, a beloved figure in the hockey community, and it was perhaps for this reason that Friedman appeared to fumble somewhat uncharacteristically when delivering the news this evening.

Given that this information is now going public, it feels like only a matter of time before the axe finally drops for Boudreau in Vancouver.