*Photo from The Athletic*
The Montreal Canadiens have made a coaching change, firing head coach Claude Julien and assistant coach Kirk Muller, according to an announcement by Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin. Assistant coach Dominique Ducharme will take over as interim coach until a permanent coach is found, according to Bergevin.
Montreal started off this season hot, with a 7-1-2 record in their first 10 games, right at the top of the NHL's North Division. Since then, it has been a struggle for the Canadiens, winning just two of their last 8 games, including back to back losses against the Ottawa Senators, moving Montreal's record against the worst team in the North Division to just 1-1-2.
Bergevin said in a statement that "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. In Dominique Ducharme, we see a very promising coach who will bring new life and new energy to our group. We feel that our team can achieve high standards and the time had come for a change."
The Canadiens reached the NHL Playoffs last season in the Toronto bubble after the playoff field was expanded, and shockingly upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualifying round. In the first round, Julien was forced to leave the team due to a medical issue, during which Muller served as head coach. Both men are now gone.
This was Julien's second stint as coach of the Canadiens. He served as head coach for 3 seasons in his first stint, which ended during the 2005-2006 season, which led to the Boston Bruins hiring Julien. After Julien was fired by Boston towards the end of the 2016-2017 season, he was hired again by the Canadiens, and served as head coach until this morning. Julien has a 201-175-10-50 record in his two stints with the Canadiens.
Comments
Post a Comment