B’s move on from Claude
Sweeney axes Julien as Cassidy takes reins
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney spoke highly of Claude Julien, and how could he not?
Julien, whom Sweeney fired yesterday morning, leaves the bench as the Bruins’ all-time winningest coach and one of the two men (deposed GM Peter Chiarelli the other) chiefly responsible for bringing the Jacobs family their only Stanley Cup in 42 years of ownership.
“A true pro” was how Sweeney described Julien taking the news that he no longer was the coach of the Bruins.
But as the B’s slog their way toward perhaps their third consecutive season of missing the playoffs, the GM finally decided to pull the trigger on a move that was first expected when he took the reins two years ago, then anticipated again when the team failed to make the playoffs last season. But since the B’s went through a fourgame losing streak in January, the issue of whether Julien would be fired hung over the team like the dreary clouds that rained and snowed on the Patriots’ parade just a couple of miles away.
Assistant Bruce “Butch” Cassidy has been elevated to interim head coach and, at this stage, he appears to be the front-runner to replace Julien long-term.
“I wasn’t ready to commit on a longer-term basis with Claude,” Sweeney said at Warrior Ice Arena. “I felt there was a level of frustration in our wins and losses and what he’d be subjected to on a nightly basis and felt we would be in a better position moving forward and allow our players to be assessed on an individual level. And me as a general manager to assess on a personnel level, to be making decisions moving forward as to who’s part of our group, obviously keeping an eye toward the future of what the young players we have (acquired) over the last couple of years. They’re not here now, and they’re not able to help us today, and that’s part of the patience part that’s difficult.”
But while Sweeney speaks of patience, there is a strong desire to also make the playoffs, and perhaps a differing opinion on just how good this team is, which club president Cam Neely alluded to in a statement.
“I believe we have a better team than our results to date show,” Neely said in his statement, which also praised Julien’s legacy.
Sweeney acknowledged he didn’t see eye-to-eye with Julien on everything.
“There were some philosophical (differences) to things that exist,” the GM said. “I don’t think any two people are going to agree on everything. I respect and I acknowledge the structure and accountability that Claude brings to the table and I think every team needs, but at times you are in a given situation to implement a particular player and (have) patience with a younger player, there were times when we might not necessarily agree on those things. But as a general manager, you’re not going to trump decisions from a lineup standpoint. And as a coach, they would like to say there’s better personnel you can find.”
Now, with Julien out of the picture, the focus will be on the team that Sweeney has assembled. After jettisoning Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic for future considerations in his first summer, the stated game plan last summer was to improve the defense and shore up the backup goaltending. Sweeney was not ready to part with any of his high draft picks to land an impact defenseman, so the team signed Anton Khudobin, who struggled out of the gate. The B’s backup goalies — including Zane McIntyre and Malcolm Subban — have gone 1-10-2.
Other Sweeney acquisitions in the past two years — David Backes, Matt Beleskey, Jimmy Hayes, Riley Nash — have failed to make the expected impact. Perhaps only fourth-liner Dominic Moore has been what you would have hoped.
Did Sweeney think he could have improved the team more during the summer and through the season?
“It would have required us to deviate from some of the players we’ve selected recently and have in order to go after the level of player you may be describing from an impact standpoint,” Sweeney said. “Have we made a misidentification of players that would have impacted us? That remains to be seen. That’s the evaluating process that I continue to go through.”
So Sweeney hands the keys to the “new set of eyes and new voice” of Cassidy to get the Bruins into the playoffs. But the heat is on Sweeney and perhaps Neely.
“I feel the heat every day,” Sweeney said. “I have expectations for myself. As I said before, I set out a plan in place where we addressed some areas of need in this organization, and I’m trying to do that. I’m trying to win.”
The future may or may not be bright. But the presentday situation for the B’s is decidedly lacking. Julien paid for that yesterday.