Following the Canadiens sudden hiring of head coach Claude Julien last week, we learned that several teams had reached out to the Bruins in hopes of securing an interview with their former head coach. Now, we’ve learned that at least one team (besides Montreal) was in negotiations with Julien.
“It was well known that the Boston Bruins had been asked by several teams to have permission to talk to Claude Julien,” reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. “One of the reasons Montreal had to move quickly was because there was at least one other team that was in negotiations with (him).”
What team was Julien talking to? Friedman believes it wasn’t the incoming expansion franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights. Instead, the insider believes it was “somebody who has a coach right now. That’s one of the reasons Julien did so well financially.” Julien ultimately earned a five-year, $25M contract, and Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos says the coach will possibly be earning $12 million through the first two years.
Following a recent stretch that saw the team drop 10 of their past 13 games, the Canadiens decided to fire head coach Michel Therrien and replace him with Julien. The 56-year-old spent much of the past decade in Boston, where he led the team to seven playoff births and a Stanley Cup Championship. However, the Bruins failed to make the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, and their 26-23 record led to Julien’s firing earlier this month.