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Boucher felt he needed to let the players know the work they were doing was good but it wasn’t nearly good enough.

“There’s a big difference between working hard and being relentless,” said Boucher. “This league is not about working hard. The guys that are there are there because they work harder than everybody else. When you’ve got a bunch of guys in a league who work hard, the winners are not the ones who work hard.

“The winners are the ones who are relentless. Did they have a poor work ethic? Absolutely not. They were working hard but it wasn’t the same as the other group that was relentless. Our standards are going to be about being relentless. Are we going to be perfect every night? Of course not … It’s impossible to be at your best but it’s possible to strive for it.”

Nothing like setting the tone early and that fact wasn’t lost on Boucher.

“It’s extremely important but it (isn’t) about creating a show and it (isn’t) about I’m coming and I’m barging in,” said Boucher. “I’m just coming in and doing what I do every day. I don’t go up and down on my standards and I don’t go up and down on what I’m expecting.

“I’m expecting someone that comes here and attacks the day every day. Some days you’ll have perfection in terms of attitude, work ethic and discipline and sometimes that’s where there’s a coach or else you wouldn’t need a coach.”

No question the players who have been here awhile noticed this was the dawn of a new era for the franchise. Half-way won’t cut it for Boucher. There isn’t any point in going back on the way Paul MacLean and Dave Cameron conducted camp, but the players should have their work boots on at the rink under Boucher.