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The Julien Effect

September 16, 2017, 4:46 PM ET [94 Comments]
Brandon Smillie
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Julien Effect

Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien enters the 2017-18 season with mixed expectations. There’s a portion of the Canadiens fanbase, and media, that seemingly believes this team is destined for the bottom of the Atlantic Division, or close to it. I don’t count myself in that grouping of disciples. I believe this iteration of the Canadiens are very similar to the previous seasons except they are younger, and last years youth appears to be ready to build on last year.



Health is always important to any hockey club and the Canadiens didn’t have that kind of help last season with Galchenyuk, Gallagher, and Lehkonen missing some significant time. The lasting effect on Galchenyuk and Gallagher in particular hurt the Canadiens more than most seem to want to discuss. A healthier line up, with a new voice in the locker room, could have a positive impact on the Canadiens this fall. I think we will all see: The Julien Effect.

In 2007 the Boston Bruins finished their second disappointing season in a row. Having missed the playoffs in the 2005-06 season with 74 points (after finishing with 104 the year prior) the Bruins fired Coach Mike Sullivan and replaced him with Dave Lewis. Lewis achieved the minimum level of improvement by helping the team to 76 points in 2006-07 in spite of adding Zdeno Chara and Phil Kessel. Despite having a 96 point performance by Marc Savard and a 70 point performance from 21 year old Patrice Bergeron the Bruins were terrible and Lewis was also let go.

Enter Claude Julien.



The first year (2007-08) under Julien the Bruins scored 7 less goals, but allowed 67 less against them. Julien, without a healthy Patrice Bergeron, helped the team to a 18 point improvement in the standings. This was good enough to make the playoffs before being defeated by Head Coach Guy Carbonneau and the Canadiens in the first round.

Under Julien the Bruins then came to develop a dangerous offence as the goals for in his second season rose from 212 to 274 and the goals against fell further from 222 to 196. This type of team typified 6 of 9+ seasons in Boston and resulted in 7 playoff berths, 2 Stanley Cup Finals appearances, and 1 Stanley Cup Championship.



There were some very good players that Julien had the opportunity to work with in Boston and there are some very good players that he has to work with in Montreal. The biggest difference I'm sure everyone is thinking right now is that Montreal does not have a Patrice Bergeron.

Not yet anyways.

The news of Jonathan Drouin’s arrival to Montreal excited even the most pessimistic of our fanbase (even if they did gripe about what Bergevin gave up). Speculation after the acquisition was that Drouin would be on the wing with Alex Galchenyuk, or Phillip Danault, at center.

We have all heard by now that the Canadiens intend to use Drouin at center this season and Drouin has been training and learning all summer about his role with the team. This wasn’t a new idea come up with in the days before the media blitzkrieg at the Captain’s Tournament and Annual Canadiens Golf Tourney. This was likely set in motion immediately.



So, Claude Julien takes over a club with a young, raw, very talented French Canadian center, a man mountain on defence who punishes teams at both ends of the ice, and a world class goaltender. Deja vu am I right?

I can guess and project and muse all I want about how the Canadiens will fare next season, but I would be ignorant to dismiss the literal history of Coach Julien’s impact on his hockey clubs. The Canadiens are further ahead in the construction of the team than the Bruins were when Julien took over, but have been consistently disappointing (save for the likely Finals appearance if Carey Price wasn’t intentionally injured). Adding a universally respected coach in Claude Julien for the remainder of the teams competitive window should yield positive results, the proof is in NHL history etched on Lord Stanley’s Cup.

I just hope the fans give the team a chance to play before they tune out. It could be worth watching.



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