AT PEACE WITH HIS FIRING IN MONTREAL, MULLER SETS SIGHTS ON JOB WITH FLAMES
One of NHL'S most likable people has only good things to say about time with Habs
Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin didn't have to say much to Kirk Muller on the day he was fired as the team's associate coach.
“It was pretty straightforward,” the 55-year-old Muller said about the morning of Feb. 24, when he and head coach Claude Julien were fired in their Ottawa hotel rooms after a 5-4 shootout loss to the Senators the night before dropped the team's record to 9-5-4.
“Berg met me in the morning and just said he wanted to move in a different direction. It's almost like Money Pit ... there's not too much that needs to be said. I mean, I'm not a young guy in the game anymore ... I've been traded and different things. You just got to pack up and move on and so did Montreal.”
Muller and his wife, Stacey, went back to their home in Kingston, Ont., and he watched on TV as the Canadiens advanced to the Stanley Cup Final with Dominique Ducharme as the new head coach.
“I think the biggest thing was the way the guys all reached out to me when I left,” Muller said about the phone calls and text messages he received from the players after being fired.
“It's nice when you leave that way and I thought it was a really good group of guys there. They've been through a lot the last few years with the guys that have been there and the new guys that have come in have made their mark and it just kind of clicked together.”
It seemed like it would be only a matter of time before another NHL team hired Muller — and that happened on June 10 when he was named associate coach of the Calgary Flames under head coach Darryl Sutter.
Muller was back home in Kingston when I spoke with him this week after spending a couple of weeks in Calgary for coaches' meetings and finding a new place to live that is within walking distance of the Saddledome.
Muller is one of the most likable people in the NHL, with an infectious laugh that he certainly hasn't lost.
“I'm into my 30-something year in the NHL and I pretty much went right into coaching after playing, and all of a sudden you get a bit of a break. Then it's like, `Geez, I'm going to start working again in Calgary,' ” he said with a laugh. “But there was a period of free time there and I haven't really had that. But I knew I was probably going to get back at it, so I might as well get other things done and stay occupied and get refreshed for when the new season starts.”
The Flames are coming off a disappointing season in which they missed the playoffs after finishing fifth in the all-canadian North Division with a 26-27-3 record. The Flames also made a coaching change last season, firing Geoff Ward after an 11-11-2 start and replacing him with the veteran Sutter.
Muller's personality couldn't be much more different than Sutter's and it looks like they could be a perfect good cop/ bad cop mix behind the Calgary bench. Muller will handle the forwards and also be in charge of the power play.
“I was watching them at the end of the year and you could see some of the disappointment in their body language,” Muller said about the Flames.
“I don't think their group was very happy with the season they had. I think we have a good, hungry group right now. There's been about six or seven changes in personnel on the team, so we're going to have some new faces. Darryl can start right from the beginning and put his stamp on the team. I'll be going in there and sharing some ideas.
“I think collectively with the staff and the players we can create a good, competitive identity there as a group and it's going to be exciting to get things turned around in the right direction.”
Muller added that he and his wife are looking forward to their “new experience” in Calgary. They were blown away by the beauty of Banff on their recent visit there and are looking forward to discovering more about their new home city.
As for their old home, Muller had this to say about his time with Montreal, which included four seasons as a player and a Stanley Cup in 1993, followed by two five-year stints as a coach:
“The Montreal Canadiens have been great to me, the city's been amazing to me, everyone's treated me great there from Geoff Molson down.
“I've had great memories there, great friends, great experiences and because of all that I still walk away saying I was pretty fortunate to play there and be a part of it.
“It's all good on my end, but I'm moving forward and moving ahead and a great opportunity presented itself in Calgary. It's another great hockey town, so I'm excited, I'm in a good place and ready to go and get the season going.”
Good luck, Kirk.