Claude Julien fired amid higher expectations for Montreal
Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced that head coach Claude Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller were relieved of their coaching duties. The organization also announced the promotion of Dominique Ducharme as interim head coach and added Alex Burrows to their coaching staff. Luke Richardson and Stéphane Waite will remain as a part of their coaching group.
Julien has coached 18 NHL seasons with the Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Boston Bruins. He’s 13th in career all-time NHL coaching victories. He led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011. He also won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL coach of the year in 2009.
Official Twitter page of the TSN and RDS Hockey Insider and Senior NHL Columnist for @TheAthleticTO, Pierre LeBrun tweeted:
Ducharme, 47, has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Canadiens. He spent ten seasons as coach in the QMJHL before joining the Canadiens in 2018, winning the Memorial Cup with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2012-13. Ducharme also served as head coach for Canada during the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2017 and 2018, winning silver and gold. The Canadiens will play their first game under Ducharme on Thursday on the road against the Winnipeg Jets.
Bergevin and Ducharme will address the media this afternoon when the team arrives in Winnipeg.
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