It was expected Boston head coach Claude Julien would be given the axe following the Bruins missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season, but on Thursday, it was surprisingly announced the club is retaining him.
“I emphatically believe that Claude can take us through what has been a bumpy transition period. I have work to do,” general manager Don Sweeney said in a press conference on Thursday.
Julien said in the press conference he wanted to be in Boston and hoped to return the team to its former glory.
“I’d rather be remembered for a guy who had enough character to go back to the trenches & dig his heels in & help turn this organization around,” Julien said.
It’s a smart move by the organization to retain Julien’s services. Other team’s like Ottawa were already salivating at the potential of hiring the man who’s coached Boston since 2007-2008. Julien hasn’t done much to be fired, other than barely missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Julien led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup in 2010-11 and guided them to nine straight winning seasons.
As Craig Custance of ESPN.com notes, if Boston canned Julien there’s not exactly a surplus of great candidates on the open market to replace him with. The Bruins had a disappointing season, but they’re not broken beyond repair. There’s plenty of talent on the roster. They’re likely a few tweaks away from returning to the playoffs. Firing Julien would have been a huge setback.
Julien is a damn fine coach. It’s refreshing to see Sweeney not make a panic move and fire Julien because his team barely missed the playoffs. In this case, common sense prevailed.
