Boston Bruins: Claude Julien Coaches 900th NHL Game
Claude Julien, the head coach of the Boston Bruins, has officially coached in 900 NHL games.
His first three years as a coach in the NHL were spent with the Montreal Canadiens, a team that he found varying levels of success with. His first 36 games in the NHL as a coach were unsuccessful as the Canadiens compiled a 12-16-3-5 record in the 2002-03 season under Julien. In his first full season as a coach the following year, however, Claude Julien showed that he could implement a winning system as he turned the Montreal Canadiens into an actual contender in the Eastern Conference.
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His team finished with a 41-30-7-4 record that season, earning 93 points and making it to the second round of the playoffs before his team was eventually eliminated, totaling a 4-7 post-season record. This was Claude Julien’s first time testing the waters of the post-season in the NHL, but coaching in high-impact situations was nothing new for the coach. Claude Julien spent the first few years of his coaching career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Hull Olympiques. He led his team to a Memorial Cup win in 1997, and eventually went on to coach the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate — the Hamilton Bulldogs — from 2000-2003. Julien was named the head coach of the Canadian national team at the World Junior Champonships in 2000 and he led his team to a bronze medal. Julien was also an assistant coach for Canada in the 2006 Men’s World Ice Hockey Championships, proving that he did have somewhat of a coaching pedigree already at this point in his career.
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His final season with the Montreal Canadiens was short-lived as he only coached the team through 41 games in the 2005-06 season, one year following the lockout season in 2004-05. Under Julien that season, the Canadiens compiled a 19-16-6 record and earned 44 points His final record as a coach of the Montreal Canadiens was 72–62–10–15, not the prettiest record, but one that he would eventually get a chance to build on in New Jersey the following year.
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Claude Julien’s tenure with the New Jersey Devils was short-lived, but by no fault of his own. Under Julien’s coaching, the Devils compiled an impressive 47-24-8 record, earning 102 points and finishing in first in the Atlantic Division. Lou Lamoriello, the Devils’ General Manager at the time, deemed Julien “unready” for the playoffs, and fired Julien prior to the start of the postseason. While the end of Claude Julien’s time in New Jersey was inexplicable and in all honesty, a low-class business decision made by the Devils, it was a blessing in disguise for the Boston Bruins.
“It’s nice to be able to feel like you’ve lasted this long. In this league, it’s not easy.” – Claude Julien
Claude Julien wasn’t looking for work for long before the Boston Bruins came calling, naming him the head coach prior to the 2007-08 season. Claude Julien has been one of the best coaches in the league since taking over the reigns as the head coach of the Boston Bruins, leading them to playoff births in each of his first seven seasons before finally missing the playoffs in the 2014-15 season. Claude Julien has led the Bruins to at least 90 points in every single season that he’s served as the head coach of the Bruins, excluding the lockout shortened season, when he coached the team to a 28-14-6 record, good for second in the Atlantic Division.
Claude Julien found the most success in the 2010-11 season when he coached his team to a Stanley Cup victory against the Vancouver Canucks. The city of Boston was waiting for a Stanley Cup win since the 1972 season, and Julien was able to deliver. Claude Julien did bring the Bruins back to the Stanley Cup final just two years later in the lockout shortened season before eventually losing to the Chicago Blackhawks.
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His tenure as a Boston Bruins has been successful to this point, and with a vote of confidence being bestowed upon him by Don Sweeney, the Bruins General Manager, Cam Neely, the Bruins’ President, as well as the owner of the Bruins, Jeremy Jacobs, he has the potential to have even more success.
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