BOSTON — There’s no denying that last season was a highly disappointing one for the Bruins. When a team that’s perennially expected to contend for the Stanley Cup misses the playoffs entirely, fans of said team naturally won’t be happy.
Bruins winger Brad Marchand believes, however, that too much of that anger was directed at head coach Claude Julien.
“I think he does (get blamed too much),” Marchand said Thursday at Bruins media day. “That’s part of hockey, though. The coach sometimes takes the brunt of it all. But he’s a really good coach. We’re lucky to have him here, and we’re all going to benefit from him being here.”
Marchand has played his entire NHL career under Julien, who is entering his ninth season behind the Bruins’ bench. The 55-year-old coach survived the team’s offseason front-office shake-up and said Thursday he is not concerned about his job security.
“He’s built good relationships with the players, and he seems to know when to lean on guys and when to kind of give them a break,” Marchand said. “He’s very good at communicating throughout the season whenever someone’s doing something well or it needs working on. He’s got a good system, and he’s able to get the guys to buy in, and it’s shown.
“We’ve had a good team for a long time, and that reflects a good coach.”
Last season’s playoff no-show snapped a streak of seven consecutive postseason appearances for Boston — one that began when Julien took the reins in 2007.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
