The Montreal Canadiens announced stunning news on Wednesday morning: the Habs fired head coach Claude Julien, and also fired associate coach Kirk Muller. Dominique Ducharme has been named interim head coach, while Alex Burrows was added to the coaching staff.
What a difference a few weeks -- and some losses, particularly to the lowly Senators -- can make. The Canadiens stormed out of the gate, looking like they found another gear after an offseason of changes by GM Marc Bergevin. Things screeched to a halt, and Julien lost his job.
[MORE: What Canadiens must improve after Julien firing]
Canadiens fire Julien; Ducharme named interim head coach
The Canadiens have lost three in a row, however, and now boast a middling 9-5-4 record.
“I would like to sincerely thank Claude and Kirk for their contributions to our team over the past five years during which we worked together. I have great respect for these two men whom I hold in high regard,” Bergevin said in a statement. “In Dominique Ducharme, we see a very promising coach who will bring new life and new energy to our group. We feel that our team can achieve high standards and the time had come for a change.”
Here’s a little information about Ducharme, via the Canadiens:
The Canadiens’ struggles extended beyond a three-game losing streak. After beginning the season red-hot at 7-1-2, the Habs lost six of their last eight games. That slump included three losses to the Senators, although Montreal did squeeze two “charity points” from those defeats.
Julien represented the second coach Bergevin hired during his tenure as Canadiens GM, with Michel Therrien being the first. This was Julien’s second tenure as Canadiens head coach, as he also guided the Habs from 2002-03 to 2005-06.
Stay tuned for more on why the Montreal Canadiens fired Claude Julien.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.