Claude Julien Fired! Gainey To Take Over.

[CoRvInA]

My first reaction to this news is not a positive one. Coaching is a full time job, who is the General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens. Bob, I presume must do both jobs. I don't like the impression this leaves me with, and that is a decision that has been rushed. (Panic) If we look at the three coaches we now have and we examine their playing style we could assume that Montreal won't be playing firebrand hockey any time soon. About the only things coaches teach these last decades is how to defend. Creativity and attacking hockey is up to the talented players one has. This means boring hockey is in store for us and I think we are going backwards to a style of hockey that we don't want anymore. I started watching the Canadiens in the early 60's, the flying frenchmen and I find the defensive hockey we have been encumbered with the last few decades less than interesting. Frankly I'd rather lose a game of flying attacking hockey than grind out a 2-1 win. Julien did not deliver the merchandise, I have never seen so many bench minors for a Montreal team, he didn't use the speed and youth that was given to him and it seems he has not been able to motivate the players. In addition Theodore did not deserve to play this evening and it is disappointing for Huet who played stongly in Colorado.

Nojo Your point is arguably a true one... but you have to agree the status quo was not one to adopt any longer either... perhaps this is the start of another line of troubles yes... but as you said the team make up is what will define if yes we are heading towards a more defensive minded team play. that we shall see soon enough!... We will now know if this shake up does something to the team.. if not then again we need to get character players... more from within or elsewhere

:ghg:

[HABBER-oooooKNOWS]

I don't know if I agree. Dallas wasn't such a defensive boring team when these guys were at the helm......I'd be worried if we hired Jauque Lemaire............They want to utilize our speed which means offense, balanced with great defense= winner

I don't want to be like the thrashers where it's a scramble out there on any given night you may win 8-7 or lose 8-7...........This is a start of a new balanced team that will be exciting to watch.......

Go THEO!!!........your up against the wall ...PERFORM

I believe in Huet, but Gainey had to start Theo to let him know he has faith in him.....If he blows it he is as good as gone

[JMMR]

Would it not be beautiful for the Theo and the Habs to do something they have not done all year.

Theo gets his first shutout in MY NHL.

And secondly the Habs to gain an early lead and put a team away but continuously

I don’t think Bob will have them playing defensive I think he will take the leash off of the Canadiens talented forwards and let them fly.

[jackp]

Well Gainey made a difficult decision but Montreal needed a coach with NHL experience... A lot of fans will be happy; hopefully he could inspire this team. The entire team will be shaken up now though... All players on the team should have a little extra jump in their feet trying to impress their new coach. Begin, Higgins and Bulis should all become better players with Bob and Carbs now behind the bench.

I don't believe it's a question of players getting better; I think (and have always thought) that the team needs some kind of *offensive* organization and strategy, something Julien never provided. I haven't liked Julien from day 1 and that's because I remembered how his world Juniors team did. They finished 3rd and they looked offensively disorganized the entire tournament (just like our Habs did under him). Julien thought it was okay to blame a player for 1 mistake and try to win games 1-0. It's so much easier to put a few more pucks in the net and then the odd mistake (like Bonk made the other night) is no big deal. It was just killing me that he kept complaining about our defense when we were near the bottom of the league in *offense.*

It now remains to be seen what the new coaches do with our offense. This is our main problem: offense. We need to put more pucks in the net. They need to *practice* offense. They need to work on actually setting up plays in the offensive zone, instead of taking low percentage shots or trying to jam the puck in off a wrap-around. Just watch the good teams play; they *make plays* in the offensive zone. For example, I've seen many teams having their defenceman jump in, while a forward hangs back to cover. This often confuses the other team's defence as they usually pick up the winger on a rush and not the d. We rarely did this in an organized fashion. They also need to work on their shooting. If I were the coach, this team would stay on the ice an extra hour every practice for awhile, working on hitting the corners. (Coaches could actually make this fun, with competitions and prizes.) Ray Bourque was not only deadly on point shots because of talent; he must have worked on his shooting *a lot.* Finally, their passing needs work. Too many plays ruined or busted because of bad passes to their feet. This is something that simply shouldn't happen on a pro team.

Montreal has been too focused on defense over the last decade or so. It's not pure luck that players who leave our team suddenly find a scoring touch. It's usually because they move onto an organization that has some kind of sensible offensive strategy. Sure you need defense, and probably it should be stressed over offense, but you simply can't ignore offense completely and hope that "natural talent" will provide all the offense you need. Hopefully, the new coaching regime will strike some kind of sensible balance between offense and defense.

- Jack

[SoCalHab]

Best of luck to CJ, but this move makes sense.....it will be instant credibility........when the refs come over to our bench to explain a call or why they screwed up, it will be to Mr. Gainey

I also hope this lousy system we've been playing has left with CJ.......we need to start attacking in the offensive zone instead of sitting back, waiting for a turnover, and counterattacking.....and yes, we would give up a few more 2-on-1's, but that's why we have a goalie back there. STOP PLAYING SCARED!

[JMMR]

I enjoy your perspective Jack. And agree 100% never in my post did I say that Montreal needs to work more on defence, all I said was player with similar styles to Bob and Carbo such as Bulis Higgins and Begin all hard workers will et better defensively and better offensively as well. Offence is extremely important and it would be nice to see the habs score more than a goal a game. All Habs fans want Bob to make this team score with more regularity.

Prizes I don’t know if that would work for players earning millions but why not try something I agree.

I enjoy what Sutter does after ever game in Calgary giving one player at the end of the game a construction workers helmet, I am not saying we should copy that but Gainey should publicly acknowledge his players and I am sure he will make it know n very quickly what he likes from players and what he absolutely needs from his players.

Lets remember when Bob played his teams scored a fair amount of goals, I believe he enjoyed those times and will as he said in his press conference stress team speed.

When I heard him mention team speed I believe he meant offence, or at least I hope.

[Ribeiro]

Julien wasn't working. I never really liked the way he kept on scratching Perreault last season. Perreault did his job, won face-offs and scored. If I recall the stats correctly, Perreault was the 2nd best player on the Powerplay behind Zednik, and had 16 goals. Before that, he had 24 as the Habs leading scorer. He didn't deserve being scratched, then inserted into the line-up, and being messed around with. He wasn't doing anything wrong.

I was quite disappointed when he left, just because the stupid Montreal schools wouldn't let his daughter go to an English speaking school.

You don't understand anything about Montreal. Have you ever even been to Quebec for more than 2 weeks?

Stop making comments about other people's home Province. It's much more complicated than what you probably didn't read in your World Geography class.

I'm excited to see Ribs get torn a new one, when gets to the bench after one of his long and lazy shifts....BObs gonna chew him up and spit him out

Doubt it. It wouldn't be good for team morale, and I doubt it'd help Ribs. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would respond to yelling.

[jackp]

I believe he enjoyed those times and will as he said in his press conference stress team speed.

When I heard him mention team speed I believe he meant offence, or at least I hope.

And so do I --> I *fervently* hope!

However, too many people here are expecting too much too soon. I don't believe the new coaching team has even had a single practice with the team! We need to be patient and see how the team is playing *next month,* not tonight. Tonight is just unrealistic...

- Jack

[Mont Royale]

Like many of us, I'm shocked at Claude being fired. I confess to mixed feelings about the whole thing. Either Gainey made a mistake in signing him to a 3 year contract not long ago, or he's making a mistake now. I would have much preferred a significant player transaction - but only Bob knows the likelihood of that.

At first glance, this move might seem like a knee-jerk event to "do something" about the team's slide. Bob isn't a knee-jerk kind of guy, as we all know, so I'm sure the reality is that there is some fundamental disagreement with how Julien was handling the team. I'm interested to see how/if the mintues per game of each player changes moving forward.

My understanding (based only on this thread) is that while Gainey referred to Theo, Souray, and Markov, he didn't say anything about Ribeiro. I hope this is strategy on his part: light a fire under those he mentioned, while not devaluing the guy(s) he most wants to get rid of. If anything, the 3 mentioned may be considered safe bets to remain with the team.

As some have pointed out, the status quo was not acceptable, and something big had to be done. This fits the bill, and there may also be player movements yet. As always, the final judgement on this change will be made with the benefit of hindsight. Montreal fans, quite rightly, demand results.

Best of luck to Bob, Carbo, and Jarvis. In Bob We Trust.

:hlogo:

[Fanpuck33]

Stop making comments about other people's home Province. It's much more complicated than what you probably didn't read in your World Geography class.

Perhaps you should be the one to get the facts right.

In Quebec, only children of Canadian-born Anglophones may attend Engligh speaking schools. Since Guy and his wife were both Francophones, his daughter was forced to attend French speaking school, despite the fact that she was raised speaking English in Dallas. Guy was very concerned that she would struggle in a French speaking school. Perhaps not the main reason he left, it certainly played a role in his decision to not stay with the Habs organization.

[CoRvInA]

Like many of us, I'm shocked at Claude being fired. I confess to mixed feelings about the whole thing. Either Gainey made a mistake in signing him to a 3 year contract not long ago, or he's making a mistake now. I would have much preferred a significant player transaction - but only Bob knows the likelihood of that.

At first glance, this move might seem like a knee-jerk event to "do something" about the team's slide. Bob isn't a knee-jerk kind of guy, as we all know, so I'm sure the reality is that there is some fundamental disagreement with how Julien was handling the team. I'm interested to see how/if the mintues per game of each player changes moving forward.

My understanding (based only on this thread) is that while Gainey referred to Theo, Souray, and Markov, he didn't say anything about Ribeiro. I hope this is strategy on his part: light a fire under those he mentioned, while not devaluing the guy(s) he most wants to get rid of. If anything, the 3 mentioned may be considered safe bets to remain with the team.

:hlogo:

agree 100% their must be NO doubt about it soem players he wants to get rid off but one thing I will partly agree is if Theo souray markov go... Perhaps none of them go or all three go... if were gonna get anyone to trade for with us it would be precisely with those three players yet if there three players that could actually step up and regain their best its again those three!

OH i CAN'T WAIT NEXT 21 IM WATHCING THE BOYS IN VANCOUVER who know maybe some change then too... will try to take pics if possible..

By the way glad Carbs back havent seen him since we shared a beer and he gave me a coupon for a pair of his back then signature Ferland gloves1

[mathieu30]

By the way glad Carbs back havent seen him since we shared a beer and he gave me a coupon for a pair of his back then signature Ferland gloves1

Speaking of gloves, can someone get our new coach a pair?

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/apps/pbcs.dll/mi...44%2FCPSPORTS01

[JLP]

well just got home -- what news, what an unexpected change.

Drama in a few hours, lots of drama...

Go Habs Go!!!

This is the biggest game of the year for Théo... a total "sink or swim" situation -- DRAMA!!!

Big game for the whole roster.

I'm excited

Did I say "Go Habs Go!"?

[mathieu30]

Et puis,

et puis,

..

http://rapidshare.de/files/10561019/Claude_Julien.mpg.html

[Fanpuck33]

By the way glad Carbs back havent seen him since we shared a beer and he gave me a coupon for a pair of his back then signature Ferland gloves1

What?

[JLP]

So here we are, this season: Part 2. Hope Gainey is ready to kick some ass, because we have the vet/rookie talent -- just need them to find their, what was it, um, "heart and balls."

Go Habs Go!!!

[BTH]

I go on HabsWorld to see what's going on and *BAM!* - coach gets fired! I was completely surprised by this but I think this might have been a good move. I always liked Julien but he wasn't playing the rookies enough and this was supposed to be a rebuilding season; he was wasting the season and delaying our youth's development. I'm excited to have Carbonneau in the system and to see Gainey behind the bench. Hopefully guys will try harder now that their GM is behind the bench. :hlogo:

[thehabbit]

although i have nothing against julien personally, i didnt like the way he coached and i think that this is a great move for the habs. as others have stated there is nowhere to hide now and gainey will really have the inside feeling of the team and the dressing room. julien was too soft with his tactics on the ice and off the ice with the players, the nice father figure that worked in junior didnt translate to the pros.

this is another move in gaineys plan to build a hardworking team built around youth and speed, exactly what most habs fans want.

carbs was always one of my favourite players and it is awesome to see him back with the habs. i am sure he will improve the PK and should be great for the development of our young two-way forwards and providing a general attitude of pride and respect in hard work.

this off-season, and possibly the trade deadline, will see gainey remove the rest of the dead weight from this team and with the coaching changes, really set it off in the direction of his grand vision.

the future just got brighter...........go :hlogo: go

[Nojo]

I don't believe it's a question of players getting better; I think (and have always thought) that the team needs some kind of *offensive* organization and strategy, something Julien never provided. I haven't liked Julien from day 1 and that's because I remembered how his world Juniors team did. They finished 3rd and they looked offensively disorganized the entire tournament (just like our Habs did under him). Julien thought it was okay to blame a player for 1 mistake and try to win games 1-0. It's so much easier to put a few more pucks in the net and then the odd mistake (like Bonk made the other night) is no big deal. It was just killing me that he kept complaining about our defense when we were near the bottom of the league in *offense.*

It now remains to be seen what the new coaches do with our offense. This is our main problem: offense. We need to put more pucks in the net. They need to *practice* offense. They need to work on actually setting up plays in the offensive zone, instead of taking low percentage shots or trying to jam the puck in off a wrap-around. Just watch the good teams play; they *make plays* in the offensive zone. For example, I've seen many teams having their defenceman jump in, while a forward hangs back to cover. This often confuses the other team's defence as they usually pick up the winger on a rush and not the d. We rarely did this in an organized fashion. They also need to work on their shooting. If I were the coach, this team would stay on the ice an extra hour every practice for awhile, working on hitting the corners. (Coaches could actually make this fun, with competitions and prizes.) Ray Bourque was not only deadly on point shots because of talent; he must have worked on his shooting *a lot.* Finally, their passing needs work. Too many plays ruined or busted because of bad passes to their feet. This is something that simply shouldn't happen on a pro team.

Montreal has been too focused on defense over the last decade or so. It's not pure luck that players who leave our team suddenly find a scoring touch. It's usually because they move onto an organization that has some kind of sensible offensive strategy. Sure you need defense, and probably it should be stressed over offense, but you simply can't ignore offense completely and hope that "natural talent" will provide all the offense you need. Hopefully, the new coaching regime will strike some kind of sensible balance between offense and defense.

- Jack

I'm no apologist for Julien, I found him to be a poor bench coach. I have never coached any kind of hockey ever so this is my lowly opinion only. But early on in the season Mtl was able to break out of their zone with speed and clever passing. Teams learned to get onto the Mtl defence quickly especially Bouillon and Markov in order to control or disorganize the breakout. It seemed to me that as Julien tried to stop the losses by demanding a more conservative hockey the team seemd to lose it's creativity a little. I hope Gainey can organize this team a bit better over time, it would also be useful to see Murray and Ferland on the 4th line so they could throw their weight around a little. This team requires that boost of energy at times during a game, I am sure it lifts the morale of those on the bench. Teams get much too comfortable playing against The Habs these days.

[Ribeiro]

Perhaps you should be the one to get the facts right.

I think I know how the school system in my former hometown works. Ignorant that you think I don't, and you tried to explain it like it was a special fact that only you knew.

The Facts: Montreal has the highest concentration of post-secondary students of all major cities in North America.

So the school system you call "stupid" has been the most successful in educating students and keeping them in school past basic secondary than any city in your country has. Now, where's Columbus ranked on that list? Must not be very high.

If you have a problem with the Montreal French school system, then you should stop cheering for this team, because they've got a share of french speaking players and fans educated in that system you claim to be "stupid."

[habs rule]

The Three Stooges make their first brilliant decision.....they put RED LIGHT Theodore in the nets tonite. I hope the red lights burn their sorry asses!

hey habber hows that taste 6-1 in the second maybe the stooges aren't so stupid huh?

[riker]

hey habber hows that taste 6-1 in the second maybe the stooges aren't so stupid huh?

Tastes pretty sweet indeed! :king:

[Habber]

Sweet tonite it was but Red Light didn't see many shots. I still have zero faith in Theo...we'll see how quickly we sour on him...like in bout a week. Let's trade him now Bob, before he costs us another game or worst yet ...your job.

[PB]

Hey FANPUCK33 from Ohio did you not know that private schools have no such policy and that

is usually where particular peoples like Carboneau send there kids anyway,.....he was just

being a bitchy millionaire.

Hockey players are a poor source on which to educated ourselves about the world around us,....

but the best of them are fun to watch alright.

[ch_nl]

New era?

Don't hope for to much. Gainey was searching for a way to improve the team. Replacing the coach doesn't change that much.

I don't think of Julien as a great coach. But not as a bad one either.