Bruins fire coach Claude Julien
- by Grant Boone
- in Sports
- — Feb 8, 2017
Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced on Tuesday that the team has relieved Claude Julien of his coaching duties.
Bruce Cassidy will replace Julien as the team's interim coach.
The B's still have a decent shot at making the playoffs this season as they now own a 26-23-6 record. But the team has lost six of their last nine games and are out of a playoff spot with two months left in the season. But the firing of Julien and the Patriots parade in the snowy streets of Boston will always now be intertwined together in Boston sports lore, and that means both weren't given the undivided attention they deserved. The team said in a statement that he also led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup Championship in 2011, a return to the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 and a Presidents' Trophy in 2014.
Julien surpassed Art Ross and became the team's all-time wins leader on March 7, 2016 picking up his 388th victory with the Bruins.
When asked to divulge his preferences when it comes to coaching, Cassidy admitted that he's prioritizing conditioning and pace of play as key areas for the Bruins to improve on this season. Julien's 59 postseason wins are the most in Bruins' franchise history.
With Julien out of the job, Quenneville is now one of only four National Hockey League head coaches that have won a Stanley Cup with their current team, with Kings boss Darryl Sutter (2012, 2014), Randy Carlyle (Anaheim 2007) and Mike Sullivan (Penguins 2016) joining him in that club.
Prior to that, he was the head coach of the Providence Bruins, after having spent the three previous seasons with the club as an assistant.
The Bruins are holding an introductory press conference with Sweeney and Cassidy today.
