Canadiens pounce on opportunity to bring in Claude Julien
Everyone expected Claude Julien not to be out of work long, but it took him only seven days to land a job.
The decision by the Montreal Canadiens to fire Michel Therrien and replace him with Julien speaks to both Julien’s reputation and the Canadiens’ desperation. It seemed evident the Canadiens were waiting for something major to happen. When a team reaches that point, making no move can be worse than making the wrong move.
Players want to believe that management will always be aggressive in improving the team. Players will view this move as the Canadiens bringing in one of the game’s most distinguished coaches to help regain their confidence.
Like Therrien, Julien is viewed as a defensive-minded coach, but Julien is more open-minded than Therrien when it comes to strategy and using younger players. Under Julien this season in Boston, David Pastrnak, 20, blossomed into the team’s top scorer and rookie Brandon Carlo became a regular on defense.
The Canadiens are 1-5-1 in their past seven game, and one of those five losses was a 4-0 shutout setback to the last-place Colorado Avalanche. They have been shut out three times in their past six games.
Considering that Montreal ranks 11th in goals per game this season, it seems clear that the recent drought is not a personnel problem.
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Julien’s presence alone may be enough to give the Canadiens a spark. The players know that Julien is a hot free agent and could have had his choice of jobs this summer.
The Canadiens are in the midst of their bye week and they don’t play until Saturday against Winnipeg. That gives Julien just enough time to formulate a plan to juice up the team’s offense. But one of Julien’s best skills is his ability to manipulate his bench in-game to give himself matchup advantages. That's where he will have his greatest impact.
Another advantage to this hire is that Julien knows what he is getting into in terms of the pressure and media attention. This will be his second tour of duty as Montreal’s coach.
From Julien’s perspective, the Canadiens offered him a more desirable situation than he would have found in the offseason. Certainly he would have landed a job, but the Carey Price-led Canadiens are a more polished team than what he would found in the summer.
It wasn’t likely he would find a Stanley Cup contender without a coach next summer. But he is coaching one now in Montreal. The Canadiens haven’t looked like a top team in February, but Julien has the ability to bring the best out of a roster. Having been in Boston, Julien knows Montreal’s strengths and weaknesses.
If he restores this team’s confidence and helps Price rediscover his greatness, the Canadiens could be a sleeper in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
