On February 14, 2017, the Canadian made a big decision.
Michel Therrien was fired, and Claude Julien was hired as head coach to replace him.
But at that point, there was also another candidate in the race for the head coaching position in Montreal. And we all know it…
Here’s what you need to know: At the time, Gerard Gallant was also looking for a job in the NHL after being let go by the Florida Panthers.
And it was he who almost succeeded Michel Therrien in place of Claude Julien.
The information was disclosed by Pierre LeBrun in the recent episode of his podcast (Radar), which he hosts alongside Anthony Desaulniers:
It’s ironic because lately, we’ve also heard rumors about Gallant and the Canadian.
But what is interesting in Pierre LeBrun’s comments is that we realize that Marc Bergevin was perhaps ready to hire a head coach who does not speak French.
Remember when Randy Cunneyworth replaced Jacques Martin (interim) behind the bench in the 11-12 season? The fans were not keen on the idea of seeing an English-speaking coach take over and we have to believe that the same thing would have happened if Gallant had been hired in place of Claude Julien in 2017.
And this, even though Gerard Gallant is an excellent coach in the NHL.
In the end, Julien got the job and Gallant ended up in Vegas. That’s also funny: Gallant AND Julien (before he was in Montreal) were in the running for the position in Montreal… But both men were too for the job in Vegasagain according to information from Pierre LeBrun.
The difference is that Gallant was able to take the Knights to the Stanley Cup final (2017-2018), while Julien was fired before seeing the Canadian reach the final during the season 20-21.
In burst
– Beautiful evening ahead!
– Oh yes?
– It’s true that it’s special.
– What is your favorite?
