Claude Julien to coach Canada at Spengler Cup, Channel One and could be a Canucks coaching candidate
Former NHL bench boss Claude Julien is taking his game international.
Hockey Canada named him the head coach of the upcoming Channel One Cup and the Spengler Cup, while also naming Shane Doan as the general manager of both teams.
The rest of the staff has some more familiar faces in Blair MacKasey as director of player personnel, and former NHLers Bruce Boudreau and Scott Walker as assistant coaches.
But beyond that, Julien has reportedly drawn some interest as a NHL head coaching candidate. In his latest 32 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman implied Julien as someone the Canucks could have interest in.
“It is believed that if the Canucks wished to speak to Julien, for example, Montreal would not block permission,” wrote Friedman.
There’s no shortage of craziness around the Canucks these days. Jim Benning responded after being booed at home, a Halloween party has created questions about rifts in the room and just the other day J.T. Miller said he doesn’t know if the team is buying in.
If there’s one team in the league that could need some change, it’s the Vancouver Canucks. They’re easily the team to monitor in the coming days, weeks and months given their unpredictability. That could mean a change behind the bench, too.
Travis Green is now in his fifth season behind the bench and the Canucks have posted a 131-144-34 record under his tutelage. In that time, they’ve only made the playoffs once: in the COVID shortened 2019-20. Vancouver went on a good run that year beating the Minnesota Wild in the qualifying round and the St. Lous Blues in the second round ultimately falling to the Vegas Golden nights in seven games.
Nonetheless, Friedman even loosely connecting Julien is interesting. The 61-year-old has coached 1274 games with the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, with whom he did two stints.
The Habs fired Julien after a 9-5-4 start last season, and he’s been looking for work since. It will be interesting to see how this continues to shake out.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.