Montreal Canadiens: Claude Julien Coaching to Win
By Emmanuel D
Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien spoke to the media on Thursday and spoke on how he is approaching the play-in series and the potential of drafting Alexis Lafrenière.
It should come as no surprise that Claude Julien wants to bring the best out of this
team that has been handed a second chance at competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If they were to win their best-of-5 play-in series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Habs will have made it into the playoffs, an idea that was far from reality prior to the NHL shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to a placeholder team having claimed the first overall pick during the draft lottery, the Montreal Canadiens are still in for potentially drafting
. If the Canadiens were to lose against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they would have a 1 in 8 chance at drafting Lafrenière. Upon being asked his opinion on the possibility of seeing Alexis Lafrenière in a Canadiens sweater, Claude Julien had this to say:
"It's perfectly normal." - Claude Julien on knowing some Canadiens fans would rather a shot at Lafreniere than winning the play-in. But Julien added that, while he'd love to have Lafreniere, he's coaching to win and sees this as a chance for his team to grow.
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) July 2, 2020
This should come as no surprise to anyone as every NHL team’s goal is to compete for the Stanley Cup, something that is exceptionally true for the Montreal Canadiens. It is the job of NHL coaches to bring the best out of their players and Claude Julien will do so to the best of his abilities, as he should. Breeding a losing culture could have negative long-term implications if the Canadiens were set up to lose. The reality the Montreal Canadiens may face upon resuming is that they were nowhere near post-season contention pre-NHL shutdown. Through a slew of issues that were noticeable since November such as injuries, an inconsistent defensive core and lackluster power-play and penalty killing units, the Canadiens fell down the NHL standings. However, due to teams not having played since March, this can be seen as a fresh start for the team and an opportunity Claude Julien and his players would certainly want to
. It is also important that Claude Julien made it clear he would be completely accepting of the fact that not all plays may opt to return to play amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a fear over their own health and those of their friends and families.
"All players will have the option to opt-in or opt-out"
— Andrew Zadarnowski (@AZadarski) July 2, 2020
Claude Julien seems to insinuate that players have the choice whether to return or not. I don't think that I have heard this option before for NHL players. In other sports there have been some players who chose to stay out.
If several Montreal Canadiens players opt to not play due to the these fears, Claude Julien may have to alter his coaching system. This would no doubt play an important role in whether the Canadiens are able to best the Pittsburgh Penguins in a best-of-5 series or if they are eliminated and draft 9th overall or win the highly sought-after first pick.