Yesterday afternoon, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said he had four coaching prospects in mind, with one candidate leading the pack.
"I think I've got a guy in mind," said Chiarelli. "I'll probably talk to them again, but we've done our homework."
Last night, Chiarelli apparently made up his mind. According to Canadian hockey website The Fourth Period, Claude Julien will be hired as the 28th coach of the Bruins, succeeding Dave Lewis.
Efforts to reach Chiarelli after the report was posted were unsuccessful, but team spokesman Matt Chmura said, "The official word from the team is no comment -- and we have no plans for an announcement [today]."
Later in the evening, TSN.ca and sportsnet.ca also reported that Julien has been given the job and would be named today.
Chiarelli and Julien have a relationship that dates back to the Boston GM's days at Harvard. Chiarelli, an Ottawa native, returned to his hometown during the summer and skated with a group of pros that included Julien. When Chiarelli became an Ottawa-based agent, he sent clients to conditioning clinics that Julien held in the area.
The 47-year-old Julien was most recently coach of the New Jersey Devils, failing to last a full season. He was hired on June 13, 2006, but fired by GM Lou Lamoriello April 2, 2007, with three regular-season games remaining. The Devils were 47-24-8 at the time and atop the Atlantic Division.
Julien was fired a day after the Devils scored a 3-1 win over the Bruins at
"Great profession, isn't it?" said Lewis at the time.
Before working for the Devils, Julien coached the Montreal Canadiens . He was hired by Montreal on Jan. 17, 2003, to replace Michel Therrien. The Canadiens went 12-21-3 under Julien that season.
In 2003-04, the Julien-coached Canadiens bounced the Bruins, who won the Northeast Division that year, in the first round of the playoffs. In 2005-06, after 41 games, Julien (19-16-6 at the time) was fired by Canadiens GM Bob Gainey.
Prior to his time in the NHL, Julien coached the Hamilton Bulldogs, Montreal's AHL affiliate, for two-plus seasons. His AHL clubs included several current Canadiens, including forwards Michael Ryder and Tomas Plekanec and defenseman Mike Komisarek.
Yesterday, Chiarelli emphasized that success in player development was a crucial component of his next coach's résumé. The Bruins have a number of returning youngsters -- Phil Kessel, Brandon Bochenski, Chuck Kobasew, Stanislav Chistov, Andrew Alberts, Dennis Wideman -- who are being counted on to increase their production.