Julien joins the enemy
Claude can cause more problems
Ah, the delicious irony of it all. Claude Julien, fired last Tuesday by the Bruins and replaced by Bruce Cassidy, was out of work for exactly one week before landing on his feet at the helm of the B’s dreaded rival and nemesis.
Critics of Julien’s methods take note: When he was fired by the New Jersey Devils in the final week of the 2006-07 season, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli quickly reacted to his unexpected availability and hired him to coach in Boston for the next season.
Montreal GM Marc Bergevin had the same reaction when Julien became available again, demonstrating that he now is regarded as one of the top coaches in the game.
“Today, we hired the best available coach, and one of the league’s best,” Bergevin said in part in a statement released by the Canadiens yesterday. “I am convinced that he has the capabilities to get our team back on the winning track.”
There had been speculation in many quarters that Julien, after almost 10 seasons behind the Bruins bench, might be happy to enjoy a few months off while spending a good chunk of Jeremy Jacobs’ money then have his pick of open jobs next season.
But coaches want to coach, and for Julien, this opportunity had to be too sweet to turn down.
Reportedly, the Bruins granted the Canadiens permission to recruit Julien, who had this season and next remaining on his contract. The B’s could have demanded compensation, but if they did not request it, it’s probably an acknowledgement of all Julien did for this organization — including, of course, winning the 2011 Stanley Cup — and an unwillingness to stand in his way of getting back to work, even if it was with their most bitter rivals.
The move might prove to haunt them.
Given the Bruins’ playoff predicament, it’s possible the best they can hope for is grabbing the second wild card slot in the Eastern Conference. And that, if Montreal were to hang on to the top seed, would mean a Bruins-Canadiens battle in the first round.
Now that would be fun, and wouldn’t Julien just love sticking it to the team that sent him packing?
Who could have imagined the fallout that ensued from the B’s 4-0 shutout of the Canadiens on Sunday night at the Garden.
With both the Bruins and Canadiens headed into their bye week, the game represented a tremendous step forward for the B’s, an impressive third successive win that provided real hope this team can finish well and earn a playoff berth after two years missing the postseason fun.
As for the Canadiens? Disaster. They hit the skids in recent weeks, with a 2-6-1 record in their past nine games, getting shut out in three of their past five.
So Bergevin fired longtime head coach Michel Therrien, even though the Habs hold a sixpoint lead in the Atlantic Division, and turned to Julien. This is the 56-year-old Julien’s second go-round as coach of the Canadiens. He coached in Montreal during parts of three seasons from 2003-06. He was hired and fired at midseason and had a 7262-10-15 record.
His 2003-04 Canadiens team trailed the Bruins 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs. With Bruins players openly talking about getting a nice break before the second round, Julien’s Habs won three straight to eliminate them. That spurred the sweeping roster changes dictated by Bruins ownership that left the franchise in rubble after the 2004-05 lockout season.
Julien might get the chance to do it again.
Does anyone who saw what the Bruins became under Julien’s tutelage really want to bet against him turning things around quickly in Montreal?