Canadiens pour rocket fuel on Bruins rivalry by hiring Claude Julien

So the Montreal Canadiens completed a major fall back to Earth by repeating history.

Michell Therrien is gone from behind the Canadiens bench, replaced by Claude Julien just a week after he was fired by the Boston Bruins. The exact same cycle that happened in 2003, but baked in with whole new levels of drama and intrigue.

Let’s get one fact out of the way first, though: this had to happen. It probably should have happened last year. It probably should’ve happened instead of trading P.K. Subban. But it didn’t.

And the Canadiens seemed better for it. By the end of November, the Canadiens led the entire league in points.

Since, they’ve gone 15-14-6 and ceded ground to every team in the Atlantic. Montreal returned to their state last season as a mediocre team unable to score goals.

In that span, one of the best coaches in the NHL became available for hire. GM Marc Bergevin had a decision to make. What would best fix his stumbling team: a major trade for the likes of Matt Duchene or a philosophical change in the locker room?

He made that choice on Tuesday. And it’s probably the right one.

So there are three big, immediate takeaways from this.

Michel Therrien was the coach of the Penguins in 2008-09. That team was worse off than the Canadiens are in 2017, battling for a Wild Card spot instead of the Atlantic Division crown. Pittsburgh fired Therrien on Feb. 9 and and replaced him with Dan Bylsma.

Bylsma led Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup that year.

Last season, the Penguins pulled the same trick: they fired Mike Johnston in mid-December and hired Mike Sullivan. Sullivan led them to a Stanley Cup.

For whatever reason, mid-season firings tend to have strong effects on NHL locker rooms. No doubt Bergevin had been considering making a move like this for awhile now. It wasn’t until a coach of Julien’s caliber hit the market that he felt it was worth it. And here we are.

With Julien at the helm, the Canadiens are back in the conversation with the NHL’s strongest teams.

Let’s be clear: the Bruins have played much better since they moved on from Julien.

But tossing Julien on the market came with risks. Namely, that your rivals would take advantage and scoop him up. That’s exactly what happened.

Now, Montreal required Boston’s permission to talk with Julien.

Why did Boston grant it? Probably just professional courtesy to Julien. Which makes sense. But you just know that when Sweeney got that call his shoulders slumped in defeat. Of all the teams Bruins fans didn’t want to see Julien end up with, it was the Habs.

Which brings us to our last takeaway.

I didn’t mean to write that in all-caps but whatever. It fits.

Bruins-Canadiens isn’t just one of the oldest rivalries in hockey. When it’s heated, it’s the best rivalry in the NHL. No question.

And now whatever bad blood there is between Julien and the Bruins (anyone who gets fired holds some resentment, I don’t care who you are) can and will get played out on the ice for years to come. Every time the Bruins come up against the Canadiens, Sweeney and his coach will melt under a microscope.

Sweeney took a big “L” in the PR department when he parted with Julien during the Patriots parade. Less than a week later, his direct (rival) counterpart took Sweeney’s “L,” twisted it into a big “W” and mounted it above his desk as a trophy.

Sweeney took grief for making a move few thought he needed to make. Bergevin comes out smelling like roses for making a major change like this when it was clearly needed. That both outcomes are dependent on the other makes this a delicious storyline to feed off of in the coming years.

Hockey is better when rivalries become real again. Naturally, not through pre-scheduled weekly games on national television. This storyline is real, it is tangible and it is wonderful. And we’re better for it.

We’ll see if the Bruins end up feeling that way, though.