TAMPA — On April 2, 2007, the Bruins gathered at the Bell Centre in Montreal and received some startling news. The Devils had fired first-year coach Claude Julien.
The day before, the Devils had defeated the Bruins, 3-1. The joke in the Bruins’ dressing room was that the Devils hadn’t beaten them by enough.
Comments
I remember the firing of Julien with the Devils in first place and only a couple of games remaining in the season. Lamoreilo also fired not only Robbie Fetorick but Larry Robinson to. Delusional- or egotistical Lou- thought he could ' glide-in' and win a Cup while he stood behind the bench. Devils got knocked out of the play-offs after the Robinson &Julien firings. Perhaps Lou should remove himself. my primary gripe is that this guy shows no respect for people in his employ. Robinson is a Hall of Famer-- even if he played with the Canadiens-- show some respect. I have no respect for Lamorello or the Devils organization as long as Mr. Ego-Maniacal are running the show.
What else can you say about Claude Julien except that he is a great coach. He keeps the team on a very level keel, they play hard, their focused and there is no nonsense like what goes on across town at Fenway Park. Also ownership is great these days as well and Peter Chiarelli, Cam Neely and Don Sweeney have made this organization amoung the best in the league, if not all sports. As a Bruins fan since 1969 when I was twelve, all I can do is say thank you.
Same age..same sentiments. Also would be great to see Daniel Alfredson on that line. He's easily got three years of quality remaining and what a misnomer it would be to call that line a third line. Reminds me of when the Islanders acquired Butch Goring as the center for their second line and then ran the tables for four years. Make it happen Peter.
Great coaching and great acquisitions since the departure of Harry & Co. Great game against the Lightning. Standout play by Chara, Kreji, Lucic, Rask, Horton, Marchand (what a sniper!) and, of course, Bergeron! Alfredson is getting old but can still skate and score. The Bs need a left winger. I'm not sure Bourque is ready to fill the bill and Kelly needs to relax an play his game as does Seguin - stop running around!
I have to admit as much as I loved the way Julien took the team from a bunch of young DNQ for post season players and molded them into a playoff team within an excellent system, I was one of those calling for his head in 2010. That loss after an 0-3 lead had to be on the coach to me, and it took serious guts for Chiarelli to not only stick with Julien, but stick with the system and the core of players. Good for PC, and thanks for the CUP! Claude is a class act and a pro.