As we reported last night, according to Tony Massarotti of the Felger & Mazz show on 98.5 The Sports Hub, head coach Claude Julien is expected to stay behind the Boston Bruins bench and an announcement would be made at the end of this week. Massarotti initially believed that Julien would be on the receiving end of a firing, after general manager Peter Chiarelli got canned and new GM Don Sweeney made it clear that changes would be made in the next couple of weeks to help prevent another season similar to the 2014-15 finish.
Boston Bruins Biggest Need: Coaching or Philosophy?
The Chiarelli termination was inevitable and the right move, as the changes he made to the club in order to avoid missing out on the post-season failed miserably. Usually a new general manager spells the end of the head coach’s tenure but for Julien, it appears he is being given another chance and Bruins fans across the nation are arms-in-air, disagreeing with the decision and calling it a mistake.
You may ask yourself, how is it a mistake? Julien has an excellent record of 351-192-79, a 2011 Stanley Cup ring, another appearance in the Cup finals in 2013 and a President’s Trophy the following year. Surely one bad season can’t do in a coach.
Big Problems in 2014-15
You’d be right in that case. Julien has been successful when looking back at his history and last year could have been a result of many different factors. For one, the team suffered through many injuries to significant players. Their blue-line alone was plagued with them, and with Johnny Boychuk already gone (traded to the New York Islanders), the Bruins had to rely on their depth by sending out Joe Morrow and Zach Trotman, while also leaning on Matt Bartkowski and Kevan Miller.
The team also experienced a set-back due to the departure of 30-goal-scorer Jarome Iginla, who signed a three-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche. They relied upon Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and David Krejci to lead the charge but all three disappointed. Meanwhile Tyler Seguin is coming off a second consecutive season of being an over point-per-game player. The Boston Bruins had gone from the third-best scoring team in the NHL last year to finishing 25th. Clearly something was amiss.
All these problems fall under management failures and Chiarelli was fired accordingly. Where does Julien fit into the problem?
Claude Julien’s Philosophy
The one-trick strategy of Julien was utilized ineffectively for so long that it not only wasn’t working, it was becoming predictable. Julien relied heavily on the dump-and-chase game, and the players could not play catch-up. The offensive set-up of getting the puck to the point and getting bodies in front of the net became easy to defend against, as long as the opposing team had a player to take away the shot. By the time the Bruins managed to get the puck to a defenseman, the player had two opposing players in his face. The strategy was failing.
Julien also preferred a more defensive approach to each game. With 70% focusing on defensive awareness and clogging up the neutral zone and just 30% concentrated on scoring goals, games became more about reducing chances and letting them get as few goals as possible, and hoping to win close games by scores of 1-0 or 2-1. Tuukka Rask was more than ready to live up to his end of the bargain but the rest of the team could not keep up.
Their special teams weren’t anything to write home about either, as their powerplay ranked 18th, while their penalty kill was slightly better at the 12th spot. It was hard for the Bruins to take advantage of their powerplay as Dennis Seidenberg struggled offensively, while Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton all missed time due to injury. Despite the losses, the system remained the same and the powerplay became a simple one to defend against.
The biggest knock against Claude Julien was the utilization of certain players and the handling of ice-time and key situations. David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner were a breath of fresh air to the Bruins typical dump-and-chase system, as they both possessed the skill and speed to carry the puck into the offensive zone. In the final 20 games of the season, post-trade deadline, the fourth line consisting of Chris Kelly, Maxime Talbot and Gregory Campbell were receiving as much playing time, or close to, as the Bruins line that was averaging more scoring chances than any other line. In fact, the line of Pastrnak, Spooner and Lucic was playing a style that contradicted the style that coach Julien was attempting to drill into the team.
In the final four games, Pastrnak averaged 11 minutes, Lucic averaged 14 minutes and Spooner averaged 15 minutes. Talbot averaged around 11, Kelly averaged 13 minutes and Campbell averaged 14 minutes. There is something alarming about Campbell and Kelly receiving more minutes than Pastrnak and Lucic, especially when they failed to score in the final 20 games of the season. If David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner are to be top-six point producers on the Bruins, which they are perfectly capable of becoming, they’ll need the ice time and commitment from the coach in order to do so.
Heading into the off-season, GM Sweeney has some work to do to help get the Bruins back to where they need to be – scoring goals, being physical and shutting down the opposition. Newly acquired Brett Connolly and Spooner are both up for contracts and are restricted, and they’ll be key players on the Bruins heading into next season. Bringing back Carl Soderberg will be an interesting decision, as he is set to hit the free agent market as a UFA and is expected to field many offers. With only four defensemen under contract for the 2015-16 season, some cap management and signings will need to be looked into as well.
One thing that will also need tweaking is how Julien coaches his team. With the possibility of youth taking over more responsibilities, the chip and chase game needs to be vanquished and forgotten. Maybe the grinders could still use it to get a few big hits and and spark some energy, but the top-six has the talent, tenacity and skill to carry the puck in and work some magic.
It’s time to let the kids have some fun. More space, more ice-time, and more trust.
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