Thus far, we know of only one member of the Bruins organization who’s lost his job because of the team’s second successive season missing the playoffs.

It’s safe to assume more casualties will follow, but only assistant coach Doug Houda has gotten the axe. After 10 years coaching the B’s defensemen, the 49-year-old was told his services no longer will be required after his contract ends June 30.

“Yeah, I guess it was all Houds’ fault,” was the angry reaction of one player shortly after the dismissal.

The natural reaction was that Houda was made the scapegoat, somehow blamed for mistakes made elsewhere in the organization well above his pay grade. But Houda doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t feel like a scapegoat,” Houda said. “I know it was brought up as being that way, but I don’t feel that way. I just think it was time, and they needed a change. People can say what they want, but it’s just time to move on.”

Houda had an inkling as the season wore on this might happen,

“I wasn’t really surprised, no,” he said. “I had a feeling during the year that something might happen. It was a little bit unclear last year, too, and I think Claude (Julien) fought for us to keep the assistants around. (This year) I just think it was time. It’s been 10 years. I’ve been very fortunate. I can’t complain. I think it was probably just time for everybody to move on, get a fresh voice for the defense and for Claude, and even for myself.

“It’s probably a very good time for this. You can’t complain about spending 10 years in one spot. We just wanted to get our kids through high school, and now they’re into college. So we’ve been very fortunate.”

When general manager Don Sweeney announced the move two days after the season ended, he was highly complimentary, saying, “Doug Houda is a great coach. The players love him.”

Sweeney spoke vaguely of a replacement “that can maybe help certain elements of our game.”

Many took this to mean hiring an assistant who’d improve the breakouts and the defensemen getting up ice with speed. If that’s the case, Houda’s response is simple: The B’s tried to improve in that regard but didn’t have the blue-line personnel for it.

“I mean, obviously we’ve always wanted our defense to get up the ice,” said Houda, who played defense for six NHL teams from 1986-2002. “We want the ‘D’ to move the puck. The only thing we ask them is not to skate into the trap and get into trouble. We definitely want them to do those things, but — and I’m not saying anything bad about our guys — that just wasn’t our strength. I think we tried to play within our strengths and move the puck as best we could.”

But in an era when so many spout a mantra of speed-talent-high-tempo hockey, Houda offers a reminder of what the playoffs are also about.

“How hard you have to battle,” he said. “It takes a different game once you’re in the playoffs. Speed and talent are great, but you’ve got to have lot of size and grit because it’s a battle.”

Houda also had a “good” relationship with Julien.

“I thought this year was one of his best years coaching,” Houda said. “He had to make a lot of adjustments. I know we didn’t make the playoffs, and there’s no excuse, but I believe he had to coach a lot this year just because there were certain guys, well, at times we weren’t strong in certain areas. He had to switch and flip-flop the lines a lot.”

Houda loved being around the Bruins’ core players, even forwards like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci. But he really lights up when talking about some of his defensemen.

“They’re such a good bunch of guys back there,” he said. “They compete hard all the time and give you everything they’ve got.”

As he hunts for a new NHL job, Houda will look back with great fondness.

“I can’t even say enough about the people we’ve met in Boston and Lynnfield,” he said. “The kids going to school. The Stanley Cup. The Winter Classics. It’s been an unbelievable ride. We’ve had ups and downs with some of the big wins and losses, but we sure had a good time.”

Bruins notes

The Bruins signed goaltender Daniel Vladar, the team’s third-round draft pick (75th overall) last June, to a three-year, entry-level contract. The 6-foot-6, 185-pound Vladar, a native of the Czech Republic, played his first season in North America with a 12-12-4 record for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League. His 2.31 goals-against average and .920 save percentage both were fifth best in the USHL.

The Bruins now have four goaltenders under contract for next season — Tuukka Rask, Malcolm Subban, Zane McIntyre and Vladar. Jonas Gustavsson, who backed up Rask this year, and Providence’s Jeremy Smith are both unrestricted free agents.

Steve Conroy contributed to this report.