Thoughts on the coaching change

Claude Julien suffered the fate of a coach too nice for his players, and perhaps for the NHL. A talented and hard-working man, Julien put together every effort in the hope that he could turn around this franchise of all franchises. He spent the past season working and evaluating the Canadiens' minor-league prospects, when he could have just rested on his laurels and waited for the lockout to pass. Julien was well-liked by his players, and after he was fired early this morning Sheldon Souray came to his defence and put all the blame on himself and his teammates, claiming that Julien did all he could to prepare his team for action. Ultimately, Julien's likeable trait was his downfall; his players tuned him out, he was too soft on them, and he didn't act firmly enough to toughen their act.

I've always said that Julien was a good coach. That being said, there were two main factors that contributed to his firing, in addition to his "softness": his handling of the José Theodore situation, and his unwillingness to play his younger players. Theodore is making $4.5 million, and while Cristobal Huet has been hot of late, Theodore's contract makes him the automatic #1 goalie. I'm not saying I agree with this, but Gainey clearly disagreed with Julien's decision to play Huet for a third consecutive game. Secondly, I was a bit surprised that Julien, who worked his way up through the junior ranks and minors, was so unwilling to play his younger players. They are the ones who have to carry the energy on the team and push the veterans; they are the future of the team and they should have been the present, but for whatever reason Julien limited their playing time. On the basis of that second point especially, Julien's firing could be justified.

This move was partly Gainey covering his rear end by placing the blame on someone else, but now that he will have his own man in place, the onus is directly on him and there is no room for error. José Theodore's future in Montreal is more in limbo than it ever has been before; Gainey has challenged him to step up his play and if he does not, expect him to be dealt. Same can be said for pretty much anyone on the team - the players know that their GM is watching them closely, and if they don't improve their play, they will be moved as well.

I'm glad that someone with NHL experience is finally being brought in as head coach, and Guy Carbonneau will have the opportunity of gaining even more experience before he assumes his full duties next season. A very smart plan of action. Bob Gainey commands a lot of respect, and hopefully Canadiens players will respond to that and stop slacking off. The pressure is on the Canadiens' new GM/coach, and you can be sure that he will pass it on to his players. And if they don't respond? The trade deadline is still well within view.