In Montreal, things have were great to start the season, again.
File photo by Lewis Bleiman
But as in any season with any club, rough patches are inevitable.
But for the Montreal Canadiens, those skids are unacceptable under any circumstances.
The Habs have gone 1-5-1 over the last seven game including a shutout at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.
Over the last six loses they have been blanked three times.
So it was no wonder that Michel Therrien got the hook.
“The decision to remove Michel from his coaching duties was a difficult one because I have lots of respect for him,” Habs general manager Marc Bergevin said in a written statement. “I came to the conclusion that our team needed a new energy, a new voice, a new direction.”
It was also little wonder the hook was given once former Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien was fired last week.
“Claude Julien is an experienced and well-respected coach with a good knowledge of the Montreal market,” Bergevin said. “Today we hired the best available coach and one of the league’s best. I am convinced that he has the capabilities to get our team back on the winning track.”
Teams are likely to fire head coaches if they think the new bench boss will breath some life into an otherwise lackluster roster. The effect was evident in the New York Islanders, St Louis Blues and Boston Bruins have had success since the firing of previous head coaches.
But at some point, the failures or limitations of the roster return and for many it may still be “wait until next year”.
The move to fire Therrien and hire Julien will most likely wake up the Canadiens’ bench in the short term but they are in a fight for the Atlantic Division playoff spot with the Ottawa Senators trailing them by six points with four games in hand.
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