‘Something had to give’: NHL coaching carousel spins as playoffs approach
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen was floored when the only NHL coach he has ever played for was fired on Feb. 1. Ken Hitchcock’s dismissal was a stark reminder of just how precarious life in the pros is, even for one of the most successful coaches in league history.
“It’s tough for us to lose him, but I think we’ve all woken up a little bit,” Allen said recently. “I’ve shaken the cobwebs off and even though it was unfortunate circumstances it happens.”
The Blues are one of five teams to have already fired their coach this season — it happened three times last year — the Atlantic division-leading Montreal Canadiens joining the fray on Tuesday when Michel Therrien was replaced by Claude Julien, who was dismissed himself exactly one week earlier by the Boston Bruins.
Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said his team needed a “new energy, a new voice, a new direction”, believing he’s found those things in Julien, a Stanley Cup winner with the Bruins in 2011.