Felger & Mazz: It's Over For Claude Julien
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins named Don Sweeney their new GM on Wednesday, and it sounds like they'll be looking for a new head coach at some point in the near future.
Sweeney wouldn't exactly commit to Claude on Wednesday, saying, "He's the coach of the Boston Bruins as of today, for sure."
Throughout his introduction, Sweeney promised changes would be made in order to get the Bruins back to being Stanley Cup contenders every year.
Felger & Mazz say the first thing on Sweeney's to-do list is make a decision on Claude, but they believe that given Sweeney's comments, that decision has already been made.
"I take it to mean he's gone, because Julien has been the coach for [8 years] and Sweeney knows Julien. The day he gets the job he says, 'As of today, he's the coach.' He's gone," Mazz said, noting that Julien could survive into the season. "There is no chance he survives any length of time. It's over."
"Cam Neely is in charge now. Don Sweeney reports to Cam," said Felger. "Just reading the tea leaves, Cam has wanted to fire Julien [numerous times] over the years.
"I thought Claude was gone from Day 1," Felger said. "Are they just keeping him here so he doesn't go to Buffalo or Toronto or somewhere in the Eastern Conference? I don't know what the play is with Claude, but, 'He's the coach today, for sure'?"
"How much more can you couch it?" asked Mazz. "It would be one thing if Sweeney wasn't in the organization, but he's been here, and he's Neely's guy... At one point during the press conference Sweeney said, 'Look at the four teams left in the playoffs; they're all good in their own zone, play good defense and have good goaltending, and so do we. But they also put you on the defense and threaten.'
"To me, that was an indication that he and Neely are philosophically aligned," said Mazz. "It's over [for Claude]."
