Flyers Coaching Candidate: Claude Julien

The NFL is long known for being one of those sports leagues where owners shuffle the deck and play with the same cards over and over again. Somewhere, someone is thinking of hiring Wade Phillips to be their head coach or coordinator. The NHL is not much different.

It is not unusual to see a coach have three or four teams on their coaching resume. Claude Julien is one of those guys and he is currently available. But is he a fit for the Flyers?

Julien first began his coaching career with the Montreal Canadiens in 2002 and would serve three years as head coach. During his tenure, the Habs made only one playoff appearance. Coming back after the lockout, Julien was let go after the 2005-06 season.

Next stop was New Jersey. He guided the team to a first place finish in their division. But three games before the season ended, he was abruptly fired by Devils GM Lou Lamoriello who didn’t feel that Julien had what it took to take a team into the playoffs. Julien was fired and Lamoriello would take the Devils to the Eastern Conference semifinals to be downed by Ottawa.

The following season, Julien went up I-95 to take the reins of the Boston Bruins. He would spend 10 years in Boston. During that time, the Bruins took home the Stanley Cup in 2011 and lost to the Blackhawks two years later. The Bruins captured four Northeast Division titles and one Atlantic Division Title. During one of their playoff runs, they did fall to the Flyers after being up 3-1.

In his last two seasons, Julien’s Bruins missed the playoffs. He was let go in the middle of the 2016-2017 season. He remains Boston’s winningest regular season coach with 419 victories.

He didn’t stay unemployed for long as the Canadiens signed him a week later. He guided the Canadiens to the playoffs that year and then again two years later in the playoff bubble where they fell to the Flyers. He would be dismissed from his coaching duties after starting off 9-5 in the 2020-21 season.

Why He Should Be The Flyers Next Coach

He has a Stanley Cup championship on his resume. Any coach who has done that is impressive. He has helped groom the Bruins into one of the more dominant teams in the Eastern Conference over the last 10 years.  A lot of what the Bruins are doing today still has some of his imprint on it

Why He Shouldn’t Be The Flyers Next Coach

On the other hand, he had a team of loaded players in Boston. It’s kind of hard to not succeed with that roster. And even then, they only had two Stanley Cup finals appearances. More importantly, he doesn’t bring anything really new to the table.

We know what he can do. There are no surprises. This is another case of giving another ex-coach a job in the NHL. Julien also has a history of health issues. He was hospitalized following his teams’ loss to the Flyers in the playoff bubble. He is 62. Can his health be sustained?

Final Verdict

Mixed. He knows how to build a winning team and how to coach them. While on the Canadiens, he helped to resurrect a team that had been struggling for years. In that playoff series against the Flyers, his team gave the Flyers fits in a six game series.

He has a lot of hockey knowledge. He might be able to guide a team of youngsters and help them reach their full potential. However, it could be that he is just another retread that might not be what this team needs at this point. If Flyers management feels he is their best option, the team would be in good hands. There may be other options that could be a better fit.