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Slumping Canadiens replace Therrien with Julien

Posted: Friday January 17, 2003 12:42 PM
Updated: Friday January 17, 2003 6:11 PM

Michel Therrien's Canadiens had just two wins this month. AP

MONTREAL (AP) -- The Montreal Canadiens fired coach Michel Therrien on Friday after hockey's most storied franchise won just two of its last 12 games.

He was replaced by Claude Julien, coach of the Canadiens' AHL affiliate. Therrien succeeded Alain Vigneault as coach in November 2000.

The firing came after losses in Atlanta and Philadelphia this week in which the Canadiens scored just one goal and were outshot badly in both games.

"It was a very difficult decision to take," general manager Andre Savard said in French in a news conference at the Bell Centre. "I had confidence that the situation would get better, that we would start winning games. But it didn't happen."

SI's Michael Farber's Take

What do we know about Claude Julien? Well, he played 14 games in the NHL with the Nordiques. If you blinked, you missed it, and I missed it entirely. He was a good junior coach, and very well thought of in the AHL.

The real question, though, is if the Canadiens were thinking about making a change, why didn’t they want Bob Hartley, who was just sitting out there? And the answer is they felt he hadn’t done a fabulous job with young players. A couple of guys took significant steps back under Hartley in Colorado.

Michel Terrien wasn’t the type of guy who’d have been on anyone’s coaching list, and he’s responsible for the lion’s share of their meltdown in the playoffs last season. Many people remember the bench minor, but the fact he wasn’t getting matchups was a problem. He also had an episode or two that made the organization look foolish. Many of the players, certainly many of the veterans, had tuned him out. And the team had become hyper-dependant on the goaltenders. That can only be glossed over for so long.

The Canadiens are nothing special in the NHL anymore and its going to take a while to get back to that level. Andre Savard faced a major task of rebuilding the infrastructure of that team. They didn’t have pro players. Now, they’ve changed that. They’re made some questionable personnel decisions, and Savard is under the gun, but depending on the vagaries of goaltending, they’re a playoff team.

In this case, though, the Canadiens need to make the playoffs. The owner is highly leveraged, and playoff dates do matter. The building is a big drain on the hockey club. That’s why this move was made.

Savard said made the decision to change coaches after Thursday night's 4-1 loss in Philadelphia and told Therrien on Friday morning before the Canadiens' practice.

"The loss in Atlanta really hurt but you have to look at the whole month," Savard said.

The Canadiens are fourth in the Northeast Division at 18-19-4-5 and in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

Therrien is the sixth coach to lose his job in the NHL this season. San Jose, Atlanta, Calgary, Columbus and Colorado have all made coaching changes.

Last season, Therrien led the Canadiens to the playoffs for the first time in four years. They reached the second round before losing to Carolina in six games.

The Canadiens, owners of a record 24 Stanley Cup titles, had missed the postseason two straight seasons for the first time since 1922 and had the worst record in the 30-team league when Therrien was hired.

Julien was in his third season as coach of the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs. The Bullodgs, who became the Canadiens' shared affiliate with Edmonton this season, lead the AHL with 72 points and a record of 33-6-3-3.

"It's a great honor and a privilege for a guy like myself who grew up in Ottawa wearing a Montreal Canadiens jersey to have an opportunity like this," Julien said.

"When Andre called me and offered me the job there was no doubt I was going to do it."

Julien's first game will be Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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