Jump to content

Claude Julien (ice hockey)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 206.47.249.251 (talk) at 14:38, 14 October 2021 (→Personal life). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other people named Claude Julien, see Claude Julien (disambiguation).

Claude Julien
Julien in 2008
Born (1960-04-23) April 23, 1960 (age 64)
Blind River, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Ice hockey coach, player
Ice hockey career
Ice hockey career
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Quebec Nordiques
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1980–1992

Claude Julien (born April 23, 1960) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served as the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to his firing by the Boston Bruins in 2017, he was the longest tenured head coach in the NHL. He had previously served as head coach of the New Jersey Devils in the NHL, as well as in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Hamilton Bulldogs. In 2011 he coached the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals, against the Vancouver Canucks, winning in 7 games, guiding Boston to their sixth franchise Stanley Cup title. In 2013, he brought Boston to another Stanley Cup Finals, however they lost the series to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.

Julien was also an assistant coach for the Canadian national team at the 2014 Winter Olympics, where he led the team to a gold medal victory.

Playing career

As a youth, Julien played in the 1972 and 1973 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Gloucester, Ontario.[1]

Julien was an NHL defenceman for the Quebec Nordiques in the 1984–85 and 1985–86 seasons.[2]

Prior to playing in the NHL, Julien spent six years in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Oshawa Generals and Windsor Spitfires. Additionally, he has also played in the Central Hockey League (CHL) for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles; in the International Hockey League (IHL) for the Kansas City Blades and the Milwaukee Admirals; and in the AHL for the Fredericton Express, Baltimore Skipjacks, Halifax Citadels and Moncton Hawks.

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1977–78 Newmarket Flyers OPJHL 45 18 26 44 137 — — — — —
1977–78 Oshawa Generals OMJHL 11 0 5 5 14 2 0 0 0 2
1978–79 Oshawa Generals OMJHL 5 0 2 2 12 — — — — —
1978–79 Windsor Spitfires OMJHL 40 6 20 26 69 — — — — —
1979–80 Windsor Spitfires OMJHL 68 14 37 51 148 16 5 11 16 23
1980–81 Windsor Spitfires OHL 3 1 2 3 21 — — — — —
1980–81 Port Huron Flags IHL 77 15 40 55 153 4 1 1 2 4
1981–82 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 70 4 18 22 134 5 1 4 5 0
1982–83 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 76 14 47 61 176 6 3 3 6 16
1983–84 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 5 0 3 3 2 — — — — —
1983–84 Fredericton Express AHL 57 7 22 29 58 7 0 4 4 6
1984–85 Quebec Nordiques NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1984–85 Fredericton Express AHL 77 6 28 34 97 6 2 4 6 13
1985–86 Quebec Nordiques NHL 13 0 1 1 25 — — — — —
1985–86 Fredericton Express AHL 49 3 18 21 74 6 1 4 5 19
1986–87 Fredericton Express AHL 17 1 6 7 22 — — — — —
1986–87 Français Volants FRA 36 15 50 65 — — — — — —
1987–88 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 30 6 14 20 22 — — — — —
1987–88 Fredericton Express AHL 35 1 14 15 52 13 1 3 4 30
1988–89 Halifax Citadels AHL 79 8 52 60 72 4 0 2 2 4
1989–90 Halifax Citadels AHL 77 6 37 43 65 4 0 1 1 7
1990–91 Kansas City Blades IHL 54 7 16 23 43 — — — — —
1991–92 Moncton Hawks AHL 48 2 15 17 10 4 0 1 1 4
IHL totals 136 22 59 81 198 4 1 1 2 4
CHL totals 148 18 65 83 310 11 4 7 11 16
AHL totals 469 40 206 246 472 44 9 14 23 83
NHL totals 14 0 1 1 25 — — — — —

Coaching career

QMJHL coaching career

Julien began his professional coaching career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Hull Olympiques, with whom he won the Memorial Cup in 1997. From 2000 to 2003, he served as head coach for the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, the top minor league affiliate of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens.

In 2000, Julien won a bronze medal as the head coach of Canadian junior team. He also served as an assistant coach to Marc Habscheid at the 2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.

NHL coaching career

Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils

On January 17, 2003, Julien became head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. In 2003–04, his first full season as an NHL head coach, he led Montreal to a 93-point performance (41–30–7–4 record) and the second round of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. He was eventually fired and replaced by General Manager Bob Gainey on January 14, 2006. Julien accumulated a record of 72–62–10–15 during his three seasons with the Canadiens.[3]

Julien was then announced as the head coach of the New Jersey Devils on June 13, 2006, becoming the 15th head coach in Devils history.[4] On October 6, 2006, he won his first game as Devils head coach with a 4–0 win against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes. On November 4, Julien won in his first return to Montreal as the Devils defeated the Canadiens, 2–1. On April 2, 2007, Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello abruptly fired Julien with three games to go in the season. This was despite the Devils having a 47–24–8 record, which at the time was leading the Atlantic Division and tied for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. They were also on their way to setting a franchise record for wins in a season. Lamoriello said that despite the team's stellar record, he did not feel Julien had it ready for the 2007 playoffs.[5] Lamoriello named himself interim head coach for the rest of the season, the second straight season in which Lamoriello left the front office to coach the Devils at the end of the season.[6] Despite the change, the Devils went on to lose in the Eastern Conference Semifinal to the Ottawa Senators.[7]

Boston Bruins

On June 22, 2007, it was confirmed by various sports websites that Julien had been named as the 28th head coach of the Boston Bruins. In his first season as Boston coach, he led the team back to the playoffs. His team struggled with consistency over the course of the season, but this was in large part due to the many injuries that plagued the Bruins throughout the 2007–08 season. Most notably, forward Patrice Bergeron and goaltender Manny Fernandez missed almost the entire season. The Bruins were defeated in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals by his former team, Montreal, who were coached by Guy Carbonneau, Julien's permanent replacement as head coach, in seven games.

On February 17, 2009, Julien coached his 200th win as an NHL head coach, a 5–1 Bruins road game victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. On June 18, 2009, at the end of the 2008–09 season, he was awarded the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.

In the 2010 playoffs, the Bruins became only the fourth NHL team to lose a best-of-seven series after being up three games to none when they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers (the other two teams were the 1942 Detroit Red Wings and the 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins). Boston held a 3–0 lead in game seven, but the Flyers tied and eventually won the game, 4–3. Injuries to star Bruins forwards David Krejčí (broken wrist), Marco Sturm (torn ACL) and Marc Savard (concussion), as well as defenceman Dennis Seidenberg (wrist) and an undisclosed injury to former Vezina-winning goaltender Tim Thomas (hip), were factors in the defeat.

The 2010–11 season saw Julien coach the Bruins to the third-seed in the playoffs and a first round matchup against the rival Montreal Canadiens. After dropping the first two games at home, Julien made some lineup adjustments, and helped his team come back to win the series in seven games. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Bruins got a chance to redeem themselves from the previous year in a much anticipated series against the Philadelphia Flyers. After winning Game 1, 7–3, they went on to sweep the Flyers out of the playoffs in four games. In the Conference Finals, the Bruins faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning for their first chance at a Stanley Cup since 1990. The Bruins came out victorious in their second seven-game series of the playoffs, including wins of 6–5, 2–1 and a penalty-less 1–0 win in Game 7.

The team's victory set up a Stanley Cup Final against the number one seed Vancouver Canucks, who possessed the best statistics in offence, defence, goaltending, power play and special teams in the NHL. After a hard-fought Game 1, the Canucks scored the first goal of the game with just 18.5 seconds remaining in the third period, taking the series opener, 1–0. The Bruins, looking to rebound in Game 2, skated to a tie with Vancouver after regulation before a costly mistake by Boston captain Zdeno Chára after just 11 seconds of overtime allowed the Canucks to score the game-winning goal to take a 2–0 series lead. Back in Boston, after a rough first period in which the Bruins lost Nathan Horton to an illegal, concussive hit by Vancouver defenceman Aaron Rome, Boston exploded for four goals in the second period and four more in the third to complete an 8–1 blowout victory. The Bruins followed up that big win with another decisive victory, this time romping 4–0 over the Canucks while chasing goaltender Roberto Luongo, who had surrendered 12 goals in five periods during the two games in Boston. On June 15, 2011, the Bruins won their sixth Stanley Cup championship with a 4–0 victory in Game 7 in Vancouver.[8]

Entering the 2011 playoffs, Julien's career playoff record in Game 7s was 1–3, with the three losses all coming during his tenure as Boston coach, against Montreal in 2008, Carolina in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2010. His one Game 7 victory came in 2004 as Montreal's coach, ironically against Boston. With the 2011 playoff game seven wins against Montreal, Tampa Bay and Vancouver, he thus improved his record to 4–3. Additionally in the 2011 playoffs, Julien (now with 33 wins) passed Don Cherry (31 wins) for the most playoff wins by a Boston Bruins coach.

During the 2011–12 regular season, Julien reached multiple personal coaching milestones. On December 17, 2011, he collected his 200th regular season win as Boston's coach in a 6–0 whitewash defeat of the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Flyers.[9] The win completed a Bruin 41-day journey from the absolute bottom of the Eastern Conference to tied for first place. On January 29, 2012, Julien (and his Bruin bench staff) coached Team Chara to a 12–9 win over Team Alfredsson in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa. It was his second appearance and second win as an All-Star Game coach, having also appeared in the 2009 Game. On March 19, 2012, he coached his 400th game behind the Bruin bench, an 8–0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The win completed a perfect 6–0 sweep of the season series with the Maple Leafs.[10]

The 2012 postseason, however, would not be as memorable for Julien's defending Cup champion Bruins, as they fell in the first round to the Washington Capitals and their upstart rookie goaltender Braden Holtby in seven games. The series was the closest, most evenly fought series in NHL history, with all seven games (including four overtime games) being one-goal decisions. After the defeat, Julien's playoff Game 7 record fell to 4–4. Despite the early exit for Boston in the playoffs, the Bruins signed Julien to a new, multi-year contract extension.[11]

In the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, Julien led his team to their second Stanley Cup Finals in three years. In the first round, they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games, where in the deciding Game 7, they came back from a 1–4 deficit to win 5–4 in overtime, the first time in NHL playoff history in which a team trailing by three goals in the third period went on to win Game 7 to take the series. The Bruins then eliminated the New York Rangers in five games. Matched up against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals, who were the regular season Conference champions, the Bruins swept them in four games, which included two shutouts of the normally high-scoring Penguins. In the Cup Finals, however, the Bruins lost to the first place Chicago Blackhawks in six games after failing to hold on to third period leads in their Game 1 and Game 6 losses.

In the 2013–14 regular season, the first under the League's new conference and division realignment, Julien's team won the Presidents' Trophy for the best regular season record in the NHL.

In the 2014–15 regular season, the Bruins failed to make the playoffs for the first time since Julien took over the role as Bruins head coach. On June 5, 2015, Don Sweeney, the Bruins' new general manager, confirmed that Julien and his staff would be staying on for the upcoming 2015–16 NHL regular season.[12] During a six-game roadtrip for the Bruins as part of the team's 2015–16 season, on February 13, 2016, Julien was surprised to learn, after his Bruins team defeated the Minnesota Wild in a 4–2 road victory, that he had coached his 500th NHL winning game.[13] Another achievement for Julien's career in coaching the Bruins would be earned less than a month later; as the result of Julien's coaching the Bruins to a 4–2 home ice win against the 2015 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks on March 3, 2016, Julien's winning game total as the Bruins' head coach rose to 387 wins for the Boston team, equalling the most won Bruins games coached total of Hall of Fame member Art Ross' career as coach of the Bruins from their beginnings in 1924, through four separated periods of coaching ending in 1939.[14] Only four days later, on March 7, with a Bruins' 5–4 overtime road victory over the Florida Panthers, Julien's win record with the Bruins reached 388, surpassing Art Ross' career total with the team.[15]

On February 7, 2017, Julien was relieved of his coaching duties after leading the team with a 26–23–6 record.[16]

Return to Montreal

On February 14, 2017, Julien was named the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens after Michel Therrien was relieved of his head coaching duties.[17] This marks the second time in Canadiens franchise history Julien replaced Therrien, the first time being during the 2002–03 regular season.[18]

On November 30, 2017, Julien won his 100th game as the Canadiens' coach with a 6–3 win against the Detroit Red Wings.[19]

On August 12, 2020, following a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference First Round, Julien experienced chest pains and was transferred to the hospital. Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin stated that his chest pains had nothing to do with COVID-19. Kirk Muller, the associate head coach of the Canadiens, assumed the role of head coach for the rest of the first round of playoffs.[20] On August 14, the Canadiens announced that Julien had a stent placed in one of his coronary arteries on August 13. It was also announced that he would be returning home to Montreal to rest, and the chances of him being able to rejoin the team before the end of the first round were described by Bergevin as "very minimal".[21][22]

On February 6, 2021, Julien won his 200th game as head coach of the Canadiens in a 2–1 win over the Ottawa Senators.[23]

On February 24, 2021, Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller were fired by the Canadiens.[24]

Personal life

Julien and his wife Karen have one daughter. The family resides in Ottawa, Ontario. They previously resided in Red Bank, New Jersey and Lexington, Massachusetts.[citation needed] Julien was raised in the Orléans suburb of Ottawa. He is bilingual, speaking both French and English fluently.[25]

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L T OTL Pts Finish W L Win% Result
MTL 2002–03 36 12 16 3 5 (77) 4th in Northeast — — — Missed playoffs
MTL 2003–04 82 41 30 7 4 93 4th in Northeast 4 7 .364 Lost in Conference Semifinals (TBL)
MTL 2005–06 41 19 16 — 6 (93) (fired) — — — —
MTL total 159 72 62 10 15     4 7 .364  
NJD 2006–07 79 47 24 — 8 (107) (fired) — — — —
NJD total 79 47 24 — 8     — — —  
BOS 2007–08 82 41 29 — 12 94 3rd in Northeast 3 4 .429 Lost in Conference Quarterfinals (MTL)
BOS 2008–09 82 53 19 — 10 116 1st in Northeast 7 4 .636 Lost in Conference Semifinals (CAR)
BOS 2009–10 82 39 30 — 13 91 3rd in Northeast 7 6 .538 Lost in Conference Semifinals (PHI)
BOS 2010–11 82 46 25 — 11 103 1st in Northeast 16 9 .640 Won Stanley Cup (VAN)
BOS 2011–12 82 49 29 — 4 102 1st in Northeast 3 4 .429 Lost in Conference Quarterfinals (WSH)
BOS 2012–13 48 28 14 — 6 62 2nd in Northeast 14 8 .636 Lost in Stanley Cup Finals (CHI)
BOS 2013–14 82 54 19 — 9 117 1st in Atlantic 7 5 .583 Lost in Second Round (MTL)
BOS 2014–15 82 41 27 — 14 96 5th in Atlantic — — — Missed playoffs
BOS 2015–16 82 42 31 — 9 93 4th in Atlantic — — — Missed playoffs
BOS 2016–17 55 26 23 — 6 (58) (fired) — — — —
BOS total 760 419 246 — 94     57 40 .588  
MTL 2016–17 24 16 7 — 1 (33) 1st in Atlantic 2 4 .333 Lost in First Round (NYR)
MTL 2017–18 82 29 40 — 13 71 6th in Atlantic — — — Missed playoffs
MTL 2018–19 82 44 30 — 8 96 4th in Atlantic — — — Missed playoffs
MTL 2019–20 71 31 31 — 9 71 5th in Atlantic 5 5 .500 Lost in First Round (PHI)
MTL 2020–21 18 9 5 — 4 (22) (fired) — — — —
MTL total 277 129 123 — 35     7 9 .438  
Total 1,275 667 455 10 152     68 56 .548  

See also

References

  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  2. ^ Claude Julien's profile at hockeydb.com
  3. ^ Claude Julien's Coaching Record at hockey-reference
  4. ^ Frankston, Janet (June 13, 2006). "Devils Hire Claude Julien As Coach". Washington Post. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  5. ^ "Devils fire Julien; Lamoriello takes over". April 2, 2007.
  6. ^ "canada.com | Article". Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2007.
  7. ^ "New Jersey Devils: 2006-07 season". New Jersey Devils.
  8. ^ "Boston Bruins Win Stanley Cup". Stanley Cup of Chowder. June 16, 2011.
  9. ^ "What was your favorite storyline from Bruins 6–0 win over the Flyers". New England Sports Network. December 18, 2011.
  10. ^ "Bruins Put On Clinic - Thrash Leafs 8-0". The Hockey Journal. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013.
  11. ^ Boston Bruins (July 23, 2012). "Bruins Sign Head Coach Claude Julien to Multi-Year Contract Extension". BostonBruins.com. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  12. ^ LOCKER ROOM RAW Presented by Gilette: Don Sweeney 1 on-1 (video.bruins.nhl.com). Boston Bruins. June 5, 2015. Event occurs at 0:07. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  13. ^ Myers, Dan (February 13, 2016). "Julien earns 500th win as Bruins beat Wild". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved February 14, 2016. Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien has accomplished a lot during his 12-plus seasons as an NHL coach. A Stanley Cup champion in 2011 and Jack Adams Award winner as coach of the year in 2009, Julien earned his 500th career NHL win when the Bruins defeated the Minnesota Wild, 4-2, at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday.
  14. ^ Kalman, Matt (March 3, 2016). "Bruins' Julien matches franchise record in win vs. Blackhawks". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved March 4, 2016. Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien tied Art Ross for the most wins in franchise history with 387, and Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand each had a goal and an assist in a 4–2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden on Thursday.
  15. ^ "Head Coach Claude Julien Becomes Boston Bruins All-Time Coaching Wins Leader". bruins.nhl.com. Boston Bruins. March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016. With the Bruins' 5-4 victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday night, Head Coach Claude Julien passed Art Ross to become Boston's all-time coaching wins leader in the club's 92-year history with 388 victories. Julien is now 388-215-85 in 688 games behind the Boston bench.
  16. ^ "Bruins Relieve Claude Julien Of Coaching Duties". NHL.com. February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  17. ^ "Claude Julien appointed head coach of the Canadiens". NHL.com. February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  18. ^ "Claude Julien appointed head coach of the Canadiens". NHL.com. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  19. ^ Trister, Noah (November 30, 2017). "Gallagher scores twice, Canadiens beat Red Wings 6-3". ABC News. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  20. ^ "Julien in hospital, Canadiens coach likely out rest of East First Round". NHL.com. August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  21. ^ "Julien heads home after stent procedure, Muller to coach Canadiens". NHL.com. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  22. ^ "Canadiens coach Julien returning to Montreal to rest after coronary procedure". sportsnet.ca. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  23. ^ "Canadiens beat Senators 2-1 behind Allen and Anderson". AP News. February 6, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021. Jeff Petry also scored as Montreal gave coach Claude Julien his 200th win with the franchise.
  24. ^ "Claude Julien and Kirk Muller relieved of their coaching duties". NHL.com. February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  25. ^ Powers, John (June 12, 2013). "Claude Julien leads Bruins with simple style". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
Preceded by Jack Adams Award
2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens
2003–2006 		Succeeded by
Bob Gainey
(interim)
Preceded by Head coach of the New Jersey Devils
2006–2007 		Succeeded by
Lou Lamoriello
(interim)
Preceded by Head coach of the Boston Bruins
2007–2017 		Succeeded by
Bruce Cassidy
(interim)
Preceded by Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens
2017–2021 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Claude_Julien_(ice_hockey)&oldid=1049900693"