5 New Jersey Devils Head Coaching Options Available Right Now
By Nick Villano
Claude Julien
Most Recent Stop: Montreal Canadiens
Oh gosh, could you imagine? Can you actually imagine if more than 15 years after the Devils fired Julien, they hired him at their most important moment? Julien was considered one of the strangest firings in Lou Lamoriello’s tenure. Lou Lamoriello fired Julien one week before the postseason started and named himself the head coach. It was bizarre at the time and is even more baffling now.
Imagine the poetry of Julien using this as his swan song and winning a Stanley Cup in New Jersey. It would be one of the great coaching series in this era.
Julien has a Stanley Cup, winning the Bruins last championship in 2011. He did a masterful job that season, and his Boston career was great. He was even pretty good in New Jersey and just lost a tug-of-war with a GM.
Julien last led the Montreal Canadiens before they went through their current rebuild. It was clear the team was trying to put together something that had already passed them by. The contracts were bad, the veterans were either too injured to play or not good anymore, and the team desperately needed youth on the roster. Julien was not at fault for any of that. He recently said he’s somewhat interested in still coaching. He is 63 years old, but Lindy Ruff was the same age when Fitzgerald gave him an extension.
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