Boston Bruins Fire Coach Claude Julien

Coach Claude Julien Fired by Bruins

A popular Coach with both players and fans, and just a good guy. After being fired today, there is little doubt that Coach Claude Julien will land on his feet and most likely will coach again in the NHL. But sometimes a change is good. The Bruins have been tottering on the edge of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and for the Bruins organization not making it 2 years in a row is unacceptable. After 55 games they have a 26-23-6 record with 58 points and momentarily they are out, but still have a chance. 

Watching them play recently they have tried hard and played aggressively, but they seem to need an injection of a renewed spirit, and a different coaching wrinkle.

Under Julien the Bruins made the playoffs in 7 of his 9 years and won the Stanley Cup in 2011...a pretty good record. But you could kind of sense by his body language that Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney was not all that comfortable with Julien as of late. He was in somewhat of a dilemma since Julien was popular, particularly with the players, and he did have a decent record. But you could sense he wanted a change. Many felt that him bringing up Providence Coach Bruce Cassidy as an Assistant Coach this year was a signal that he was getting ready to act.
  

Assigned as Interim Coach, Butch Cassidy, has a lot of coaching experience, having coached in the NHL with the Washington Capitals and most recently with the Providence Bruins in the AHL. This move could be very good for East Longmeadow's Frank Vatrano since Cassidy is very familiar with his play when he played, and starred, for Providence in the AHL. He recognizes Frank's ability to score and put up points and my guess is that he will play him differently where he will put him in a better position to do so. We shall see.

It should be an interesting and revealing end of season for the Boston Bruins Hockey Team.

Go Bruins !

Alfredo DiLascia
Image News Service