Bruins firing Claude Julien could cripple franchise

The Boston Bruins handling of Claude Julien is farcical and could be a franchise crippling move. 

Claude Julien is a darn good coach. He’s not perfect, but he’s certainly one of the better ones. The Boston Bruins have been consistently competitive under Julien despite some terrible moves from management.

Sure, they haven’t made the playoffs since the 2013-14 season and it’s not looking good for this season. But who deserves the blame? The guy who traded a third round pick for Zac Rinaldo, signed David Backes to a five-year deal, and refused to address their obvious needs? Or the guy who, despite an incompetent front office, made them competitive?

The Bruins’ defense is terrible and it has been for the better part of the past three seasons. However, general manager Don Sweeney, the heir apparent to Peter Chiarelli, has done very little to address it. Signing John-Michael Liles and extending Torey Krug were both solid moves. However, any good done by those is outdone by the questionable contracts given to Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller. The Bruins made a bold decision by hiring from within from the same front office who thought Tyler Seguin didn’t fit in their culture.

Claude Julien is off to do better things. Whether he finds himself as the first head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights or as an analyst, he’s going to be successful in whatever he does. Julien is the winningest coach in Bruins history and deserves much better. Not only did the Bruins fire him weeks after promising he’s their guy, they did so on the same day the New England Patriots Super Bowl parade is happening. Don’t think it’s a coincidence, they’re trying to sweep this under the rug.

Replacing him is Bruce Cassidy. Fans might remember him from his tenure with the Washington Capitals. His tenure is something a lot of people either forget or really want to forget, so here’s a summary of it.

Let’s just say things are much more likely to get gloomier under Cassidy. Maybe he has grown since his time with the Capitals. Cassidy did a mighty fine job with the Providence Bruins. Look at how much better Joel Quenneville has been with the Chicago Blackhawks than the St. Louis Blues. But his resume isn’t encouraging and until he proves otherwise, he’s a bad coach.

The timing of Julien’s firing makes very little sense. Julien’s style has never been one to maximize speed and skill, something the Bruins are trying to do. So why not fire him after last season? Why wait until now and be stuck with someone who you could argue is the worst head coach of the past 15 years?

Boston has issues, but they aren’t related to Julien. Patrice Bergeron can’t buy a goal (6.6 percent shooting percentage compared to his career 10 percent mark). He has overpaid players who aren’t producing as much as expected (Backes, David Krejci, Jimmy Hayes, Matt Beleskey). His defense is led by a rookie (Brandon Carlo) and an old man past his prime (Zdeno Chara). The Bruins have Tuukka Rask, who is getting fatigued because his backup goalies can’t be trusted. These are roster composition issues, not roster utilization issues.

Without Claude Julien, the Bruins are likely heading towards a rebuild. And they’re doing so with numerous undesirable contracts with not too many prospects to fill roles. It’s up to guys like Ryan Spooner (if he’s not traded), David Pastrnak, Carlo, and Frank Vetrano to step up. Top prospects Jake Debrusk, Jakub Zboril, and Zachary Senyshyn must pan out. Because if they don’t, the Bruins are completely screwed.

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At least now, Sweeney and team president Cam Neely have no one to blame for their shortcomings. If they fail, the world’s easiest scapegoat is no longer behind the bench. Pour one out for Claude Julien, he deserves better than the Bruins. His future, unlike that of the team that fired him, is bright.