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MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens are giving Michel Therrien a second chance to coach hockey's winningest franchise.
Therrien, who began his NHL coaching career in Montreal in the 2000-01 season, has been hired as its new coach, the team announced Tuesday. He was expected to be introduced at a 2 p.m. ET news conference.
Therrien, 48, replaces Randy Cunneyworth, who came under fire by the media and fans this past season because of his inability to speak French. Cunneyworth was promoted to interim coach midseason after Jacques Martin was dismissed.
Therrien coached the Canadiens for parts of three seasons (2000-01, 2001-2002 and 2002-03), replacing Alain Vigneault behind the bench, his team upsetting Boston in the first round of the 2002 playoffs. Therrien was fired in 2003.
He resurfaced in Pittsburgh, coaching the Penguins from 2005-06 through 2008-09, and took a young, rebuilding team from the basement of the standings to the playoffs the next year. The result earned him a Jack Adams Award nomination in 2006-07 after a 47-point improvement in the standings.
The following season, the Penguins took the Detroit Red Wings to six games in the Stanley Cup finals before losing.
Therrien was fired during the 2008-09 season as the team struggled, and was replaced by Dan Bylsma, who led the Penguins to a Cup championship later that spring.
Therrien, who did TV work for French-language sports network RDS this past season, was among several bilingual candidates interviewed by rookie Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin.
The last coach to have two different tours of duty with the Canadiens was Claude Ruel (1968-71 and 1979-81).
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/80...rien-new-coach
Therrien, who began his NHL coaching career in Montreal in the 2000-01 season, has been hired as its new coach, the team announced Tuesday. He was expected to be introduced at a 2 p.m. ET news conference.
Therrien, 48, replaces Randy Cunneyworth, who came under fire by the media and fans this past season because of his inability to speak French. Cunneyworth was promoted to interim coach midseason after Jacques Martin was dismissed.
Therrien coached the Canadiens for parts of three seasons (2000-01, 2001-2002 and 2002-03), replacing Alain Vigneault behind the bench, his team upsetting Boston in the first round of the 2002 playoffs. Therrien was fired in 2003.
He resurfaced in Pittsburgh, coaching the Penguins from 2005-06 through 2008-09, and took a young, rebuilding team from the basement of the standings to the playoffs the next year. The result earned him a Jack Adams Award nomination in 2006-07 after a 47-point improvement in the standings.
The following season, the Penguins took the Detroit Red Wings to six games in the Stanley Cup finals before losing.
Therrien was fired during the 2008-09 season as the team struggled, and was replaced by Dan Bylsma, who led the Penguins to a Cup championship later that spring.
Therrien, who did TV work for French-language sports network RDS this past season, was among several bilingual candidates interviewed by rookie Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin.
The last coach to have two different tours of duty with the Canadiens was Claude Ruel (1968-71 and 1979-81).
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/80...rien-new-coach
