Claude Julien Has Lost The Bruins

Claude Julien has been a fan favorite in Boston for the past couple seasons as the Bruins have slowly but surely crawled back into TV and radio discussions. He even led them to the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2009. 2010 has a been a different story though. While the Bruins lost top goal scorer Phil Kessel, they were supposed to be a team that's "tough to play." Having a record barely over .500 does not qualify as tough to play to me. They aren't even showing any heart out there and to me this falls on the coach.

The Bruins have been the losers of 8 out of 9. While a 9 game stretch is no reason to make a reactionary move like firing the coach, it is a crucial stretch of the season and he is starting to lose his players. The "system" he has in place has failed. Being dead last in the NHL in goals is nothing any team would ever be proud of.

Making a coaching change doesn't mean that the team is giving up on the season. It just means that the coach has lost the players and I believe that Julien has lost his players. An example of this strategy working is the Pittsburgh Penguins just one year ago. In February, after a rough stretch, they fired head coach Michael Therrien. The Penguins ended up going on a run to win the Stanley Cup after making a coaching change and some personnel moves.

While the Bruins don't have a Sidney Crosby or an Evgeni Malkin to lean on, they have a strong defense and the pieces to deal for a star like Ilya Kovalchuk at the trading deadline in February if they need to make a coaching change.

Even if they don't make a run like the Penguins did last season, they can get a coach that will come in and build a system that the players will be used to next year. Julien's system and the results it has produced have followed the same pattern of his coaching career. He comes into a team, generates excitement and when it doesn't result in winning the players quit on him. That is exactly what is happening with this Bruins team as evidenced by their 5-1 loss to the LAST PLACE Carolina Hurricanes last evening.

Fire Julien, bring in a new coach and try to light a fire under some of the players who have quit on the team by making some personnel shakeups. Maybe bringing in Ilya Kovalchuk isn't the answer. Maybe getting rid of a coach that is currently dead weight is the answer.