ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The last time Bruce Boudreau landed in Minnesota, his dedication to the sport left much to be desired.Now hes back in the capital city as an NHL head coach on his third team, bringing a passionate work ethic to the Wild developed over four decades of a vagabond career with the mutual hope of reaching an unprecedented level of postseason success.If this job pans out for Boudreau like the gigs in Washington and Anaheim did with an early round departure from the playoffs, well, the familiar plateau wont be because this 61-year-old hockey lifer didnt care.Theres an off day, and hes still in there at 8 a.m. pacing around and looking for someone to talk hockey with, general manager Chuck Fletcher said.Minnesota hasnt come close to Boudreaus eight division titles in nine years, so the coach with the highest winning percentage among his active peers in the league -- whos one of seven in NHL history to win 200 or more games with two different teams -- was an easy pick.Five NHL teams changed head coaches this season, with Jared Bednar in Colorado, Guy Boucher in Ottawa, Glen Gulutzan in Calgary and Randy Carlyle replacing Boudreau in Anaheim.What I liked about having Bruce as my first coach is he set a very high work ethic bar. He made you really go hard. Practices were long. We skated. You dont mess up a play in practice. You have to re-do it. That was cool because it just makes your standard a lot higher, Washington defenseman Karl Alzner said.The Wild were outskated on Thursday in a 3-2 loss at St. Louis, with their home opener set for Saturday against Winnipeg. Implementing this aggressive, attacking system with a new group that played a different way for nearly five years under previous coach Mike Yeo will take a little time. Boudreau is as good as there is, though, at swiftly getting a team to buy in to a philosophy and scheme and seeing on-ice success.This has been successful for me wherever Ive gone so I dont know why it wouldnt be successful here, Boudreau said. The idea for me is I keep things really simple. I dont have fancy words or phrases to the players on how the communication goes. Its pretty straightforward, black and white conversation, so they get what Im talking about pretty early on in the season and then its just working on it on a continual basis.Having skated or coached for 27 different teams over the last 44 years, Boudreau has a big memory bank to draw on.Theres not a situation that can come up that I havent already faced, he said. Ive been the player thats been called up and sent down. Ive been the player thats been sat out for 30 straight games. Ive been the big scorer in the minors. So Ive gone through the trials and tribulations of excitement and disappointment.Quick with a quip and prone to a malaprop with a penchant for profanity, Boudreau was asked the day before training camp began how the feeling-out period has gone with his previous teams as the players have adopted to his personality.Ah, I think its worked pretty well, Boudreau said, pausing for effect. Until Game 7.That was a shot at his 1-7 record in the winner-take-all final games of postseason series with the Capitals and Ducks. He made it to the conference finals once.Still, thats quite an accomplishment for a once-underachieving player who preferred partying to conditioning and was once arrested for streaking in a bar during his days as a star for the junior-level Toronto Marlies. He showed up out of shape in 1975 for a one-year stint with the Minnesota Fighting Saints in the WHA, before the league folded. Drafted by his hometown NHL team, Boudreau played the majority of his eight-season career in the league with the Toronto Maple Leafs.I still get mad at myself that I could have been an NHL player for a long time if I had done the right things, but I didnt, Boudreau said.After years of bouncing around the AHL, he transitioned into coaching.A married father of four with a roly-poly build who reads comic books and listens to country music, Boudreau has learned the art of managing people because of his everyman ability to connect with a variety of types. Hes demanding but humorous enough to consistently keep the mood light. The locker room has motivational quotes from sports greats like Vince Lombardi, Muhammad Ali, Jerry West, John Wooden and Jack Nicklaus painted on the walls above the equipment stalls.Whatever works for this team, which checked out on Yeo during a midseason freefall that cost him his job. So here comes a new system and a clean slate.Youre not really becoming best friends with the coach, so I think its more about making sure that youre comfortable with systems or playing as a unit of five or killing penalties or power plays, captain Mikko Koivu said. The sooner the better it is that we get on the same page.Thats Boudreaus specialty.---AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Washington contributed to this report. Magic Jerseys China . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Wholesale Custom Magic Shirts . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. http://www.custommagicjersey.com/custom-penny-hardaway-jersey-large-71v.html . 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This team is armed with the NBAs Next Big Thing and one of the leagues youngest nuclei, and you get the sense that fans know their journey is just getting started.Whats goodStan Van Gundy has been making the right turns over his entire tenure as Pistons coach and president, so its no surprise that he earned one of the teams highest rankings, at 27th. It was just two years ago that the Pistons were ranked No. 105 in these rankings and experiencing their third consecutive sub-30-win season. Now, the team boasts a young, playoff-caliber roster with some cap space. While everyone else is playing small ball, Van Gundy cant get enough of the bigs: Drummond, Marjanovic, Leuer, Ellenson, Morris, Baynes. This roster earned a 48-spot jump this year, thanks partly to its play, sure, but also because of things such as participation in Slow Roll Detroit, which saw the team bike around the city with fans last year.Whats badFor all that has gone right for the Pistons of late, one thing cant be ignored: location, location, location. The Palace is more than 30 miles from downtown Detroit and 45 miles from the citys busiest airport.dddddddddddd In other words, it would require a 40-60 minute drive to get from The Palace to Ford Field or Comerica Park. The Pistons wrapped a three-year, $40 million renovation job in time for the 2014-15 season, and that addressed the scoreboard, sound system and Wi-Fi. It bumped the stadium experience ranking up 21 spots this year, to 65th, but thats still the Pistons worst placing. Now, if only they could find a large enough flatbed truck to transport the whole arena some place more convenient.Whats newLast season, the NBA blessed the Pistons with zero national TV appearances. Only the Nuggets and 76ers were also completely blacked out, and the Pistons recorded more wins than those two combined. Oops. At least fans were treated to tickets that were almost $25 below average! With average stubs at $31.42, Motown is looking at the third cheapest seats in the league. That isnt a bad price to see Andre Drummond make us rethink what we know about basketball and physics (see: 25-and-29 vs. the Pacers, four offensive rebounds in 11 (!) seconds against the Bucks, five fouls against in nine seconds vs. the Rockets). Good news, Detroit fans: Drummond isnt going anywhere, after signing a five-year, $130 million deal this offseason. Combining great play, cheap prices and a long-awaited successful season? Thatll get you a 53-spot bump in bang for the buck.Next: Golden State Warriors?| Full rankings ' ' '