Claude Julien was fired as head coach of the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. That means Massachusetts bids farewell to the NHL’s longest tenured bench boss, as well as one of its winningest. He sits today with 512 NHL wins, a Stanley Cup (and another trip to the Finals), and a stellar win percentage of .621.
And at just 56, his career won’t end there.
Here’s Mike Babcock’s accurate take:
Mike Babcock on Claude Julien's firing: "Someone out there's happy today. You ain't getting better."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 7, 2017
Yeah, that’s pretty much right.
Canucks fans might be excused for having mixed feelings on Julien. It was his team, after all, that hoisted the most unholy of Stanley Cups in Rogers Arena back in 2011.
Still, there’s no denying his tenure and his success. The truth is he is the first championship quality coach to arrive on the market since Mike Babcock walked away from Detroit. So Vancouver should pay serious attention.
But Vancouver kinda still has a head coach: Willie Desjardins.
Desjardins: “Did you just check out that other coach??”
Vancouver: “This is awkward.”
Earlier this season, as the Canucks slid in the standings, there was plenty of talk about Desjardins’ impending doom. Most of us were pretty sure he’d be let go, particularly after a nine-game losing streak in October. Yet management opted to stubbornly hold onto their Willie.
Did they see potential in him that others did not? Were they blinded by his luxurious lip luggage? Or perhaps they were simply waiting for a viable alternative to hit the market.
If they were, it is here.
Assuming Julien will be looking for a new head coaching job right away, there’s reason to think that Vancouver could be in the running. Julien and Jim Benning have plenty of history together in Boston, and Vancouver management has said in the past that they wanted to model themselves on Boston’s big, gritty, scoring team from 2011.
So yes, it’s easy to picture Julien behind the Vancouver bench.
On the other hand, most coaches want to win. That’s something Vancouver doesn’t do much of lately, so luring him here might be tricky. Coaches have sometimes been known to migrate where there’s clear and immediate potential, like Joel Quenneville to Chicago, or Mike Babcock to Toronto. ... So Vancouver’s screwed.
And of course there’s the question of whether he’d improve Vancouver at all. Julien was released for coaching an inconsistent team struggling on the wrong side of the playoffs, carrying a record of 26-23-6. Sound familiar?
Should Vancouver even follow Boston's model anymore? The model that fires top NHL coaches like Claude Julien? (I'll just fire up the ol' Joke Determiner 3000... yep, that's a joke.)
Boston is spinning its wheels and fans are frustrated. Little of that can be pinned on the coach; they’ve lost scoring depth and defensive capability to attrition. Nonetheless, it’s wishful thinking to expect Julien would produce vastly different results in Vancouver this season.
But there’s no denying that Julien is a seriously successful coach. He’s led his teams to nine 40+ win seasons over his career. He’s won a Jack Adams, and a President’s Trophy, and a Stanley Cup. He’s a “buy and hold” type of guy.
If you're unsure what the Canucks would be getting, it's worth checking out reactions around the NHL. Or from Boston fans. This Dan Ryan piece in particular is pure gold.
What’s more, Julien has proven success coaching teams that platoon scoring. With no clear future top line emerging, Vancouver should prepare the way for a balanced attack.
If the Canucks decide to act, they had better move quickly; several other teams will be gunning for Julien’s services. And one of them has Cirque du Soleil.
