Bruins Fire Head Coach Claude Julien; But Was This Season Really His Fault?
While New England fans are distracted today, the Bruins front office canned longtime head coach Claude Julien...but why?
Tens of thousands of New Englanders will be keenly focused on the Patriots parade happening today in Boston. Celebrating, partying and savoring the moment of another championship for the region. All of those good feelings must have convinced the Boston Bruins front office, Don Sweeney and Cam Neely, that today would be the perfect day to sneak a coaching change in under the radar.
According to NESN, Julien, who's spent nearly 10 seasons as the Bruins head coach will be replaced by assistant coach Bruce Cassidy behind the bench. The firing may seem odd to some, The B's are only one point out of the playoffs and currently have a winning record. So it's fair to ask the question, was this season, clearly deemed an underachievement, really Julien's fault?
It appears that general manager Don Sweeney thinks so. Although, many fans have begun to wonder whether or not Sweeney was the correct choice to replace former GM Peter Chiarelli. Under Chiarelli's watch, the Bruins made it to the Stanley Cup finals twice, winning once. So far, Sweeney's regime hasn't even seen the playoffs and questions should begin to surface on how qualified and capable the current front office of the Bruins is. Typically, firing a head coach is the last stop on the cutting block for member of the front office have to go.
So what do you think? Was it time for Claude Julien to be fired as Bruins head coach?