For now, Scott Gordon is the sole member of an infamous club — NHL coaches sacked in 2010-11 — that may grow to include the likes of John MacLean, Ron Wilson, Brent Sutter, and/or Todd Richards.
Do not expect Claude Julien to land on that list.
The Bruins are parked in a funk that’s seen them drop four of their last five games, the most recent a no-heartbeat, 3-0 setback to Anaheim on Monday. For too many of those minutes, the Bruins played a zero-resistance style.
When teams fall so short of the standards they’ve set, responsibility usually falls upon coaches’ shoulders, sometimes at the cost of their employment. Such a fate is not likely to fall upon Julien. Yesterday, when asked about Julien’s job security on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich,’’ general man ager Peter Chiarelli gave his coach his endorsement.
“That’s my preference and that’s my recommendation,’’ Chiarelli said, when asked if Julien would not be fired this season. “This is a collective thing that we do on these matters. I have full confidence in Claude and his staff to figure it out.’’
Then again, at the tail end of 2006-07, Chiarelli said Dave Lewis was safe. In June, Lewis, after completing only one season in a four-year contract, was fired. Julien is in the first season of a multiyear extension.
“Right now, my job is to coach this hockey club,’’ Julien said after yesterday’s tuneup at Ristuccia Arena. “Whatever’s being said out there or whatever goes, that’s out of my control. I come in every day with the same intentions, and that’s to coach this hockey club and make this team as successful as I can. That’s the way it goes. That’s the nature of the beast. We all know that as coaches. It comes around every once in a while.’’
Dismissing Julien now would be out of character for Chiarelli and the rest of the management group, one that shares responsibility for the slide down the standings. Julien’s defense-first system may be passive, unimaginative, and easy to play against when players are underachieving and the team is slumping. For the most part, Julien rolls four lines and feeds ice time to players who may not be deserving of minutes.
But the 2010-11 Bruins have been assembled in accordance with that vision by a GM who concurs with Julien’s philosophy and presented him with the charges he’s coaching.
Julien needed a top-flight right wing to replace Phil Kessel. Management acquired Nathan Horton, the ex-Panther they identified as having the characteristics they required. In doing so, Chiarelli sacrificed Dennis Wideman, the team’s sharpest puck-moving defenseman.
