Boston aims for protection by keeping coach Claude Julien in purgatory
It can't be fun to be Bruins coach Claude Julien right now. The coach is in a waiting pattern as far as his job status is concerned while the Bruins leave his future with the team up to an as-yet unknown general manager.
If the Bruins plan to fire Julien, it would be best for the coach if the team fired him now while there are still plenty of coaching options open around the league. But according to Fluto Shinzawa of The Boston Globe, the Bruins are holding on to Julien both to protect themselves and to maintain the perception that the choice really is up to the GM.
"[The Bruins] don’t want to strengthen a rival such as the Flyers, who are looking for a coach to replace Craig Berube," Shinzawa wrote. "They also want to assure their customers that the next GM would make the call, just as CEO Charlie Jacobs and team president Cam Neely promised during their news conference explaining the decision to fire Peter Chiarelli.
"Julien’s eventual ouster will be hastened once Mike Babcock chooses his destination, whether it’s Detroit, Toronto, or Buffalo. But by then, the teams that miss on Babcock will execute their backup options. This could leave Julien on the outside. The Bruins would be responsible for his full freight."
(h/t The Boston Globe)
Photo by Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
