Canadiens fire Julien, Muller
MONTREAL — The struggling Montreal Canadiens fired head coach Claude Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller on Wednesday following a three-game skid.
The Habs elevated Dominique Ducharme from assistant to interim coach, and Alex Burrows was added to the coaching staff.
After a one-week break in their schedule, the Canadiens have lost three in a row. They’ve lost six of eight since a strong start.
A 5-4 shootout loss in Ottawa against the Senators on Tuesday night marked the end of the line for Julien, who returned for his second go-round as Montreal’s coach midway through the 2016-17 season.
The Canadiens were battling the Toronto Maple Leafs for top spot in the North Division earlier in the season, but have dropped into fourth.
Julien had to leave the team during the first round of the playoffs last year in Toronto when he had a stent installed in a coronary artery.
Ducharme joined the Canadiens’ coaching staff in April 2018 after 10 seasons in the Quebec junior league. He won a Memorial Cup with Halifax in 2013 and has twice been Canada’s head coach at the world juniors, winning silver in 2017 and gold in 2018.
Burrows has been a member of the coaching staff for the team’s AHL affiliate in Laval, Que., two seasons.
“I would like to sincerely thank Claude and Kirk for their contributions to our team over the past five years during which we worked together. I have great respect for these two men whom I hold in high regard,” Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said in a statement.