Canadiens GM calls Claude Julien hire a ‘turning point’ for the team

Addressing the monumental coaching change that his Montreal Canadiens wrought on the NHL on Tuesday, general manager Marc Bergevin made it clear that this was not a decision made on a whim.

Instead, two months of major regression and unmet potential started the wheels of change turning in his head. That those wheels hit full speed as the rival Bruins put their excellent coach out to pasture is mere coincidence, Bergevin seemed to insist.

“We were just not playing our game, we were not the same team as we were earlier on,” Bergevin told reporters on Wednesday. “There was something missing and the team performance showed that there was something not right and the change had to be made.”

Bergevin thanked Michel Therrien for his time with the Canadiens and admitted the conversation to part ways was difficult. But he made a point to clear up two pieces of news that, in his words, had been “misrepresented” in recent weeks.

Two days after the Bruins fired Claude Julien, Bergevin met with his top player leaders (captain Max Pacioretty, Shea Weber, and Carey Price) without Therrien present. It set off alarm bells, although our own Canadiens blog preached restraint:

This meeting seems like par for the course when you’re discussing a general manager performing due diligence. Similar to when a scout attends a certain game. More often than not it means the scout is simply performing his job, as opposed to the early signs of a big trade. We know for a fact that Bergevin is a very active hands-on type general manager.

As it turned out, they were right. Bergevin said the meeting was not about coaching changes, and that Therrien had suggested he meet with the players by himself.

Bergevin also tried to insist that the timing of the change had nothing to do with Julien’s availability.

“I didn’t make my decision based on how Boston operates,” Bergevin said. “Even if Claude wasn’t available there was a decision to be made for the team.”

Considering ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun’s report that the Habs had asked permission to speak with Gerard Gallant, it appears this decision to part with Therrien was inevitable no matter who was available.

But Bergevin must be pleased with the fact Julien was. The new coach revealed he signed a five-year contract and will keep all assistants on through the end of the season. And no, he won’t be changing the heavier style he preached in Boston:

The main takeaway from the two press conferences?

Montreal just made the biggest trade deadline acquisition of the season. Bergevin believes in his team, especially its leaders:

And he just acquired the league’s best available coach to take over for a team already (mostly) a lock for the playoffs. The stars aligned for Bergevin, and he jumped. Time will tell if it will pay off, but he made clear on Tuesday that he’s sure it will.