In danger of missing the NHL playoffs for the third consecutive season, the Boston Bruins have fired head coach Claude Julien.
Julien is the winningest coach in Bruins history with 419 victories. In his decade behind the bench in Boston, he led the franchise to the Stanley Cup Finals twice, winning once in 2011. But the team has lost six of their last nine games and are out of a playoff spot with two months left in the season.
At a press conference, which curiously took place Tuesday at the same time as the Patriots’ Super Bowl victory parade, Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney was asked about the timing of the announcement.
“I’m not trying to take away, in any way shape or form, deflect or try and mute, as a matter of a fact, the impact of the decision that I’ve made this morning,” Sweeney said. “The schedule represents an opportunity to have a couple days of practice. I thought that was vitally important.”
Assistant Coach Bruce Cassidy will take over on an interim basis.