Former Penguins Coach Michel Therrien Hired In Montreal
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) -- Michel Therrien has been hired to coach the Montreal Canadiens, as announced Tuesday morning by Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin.
He returns to coach the team he was in charge of before assuming head coaching duties in the Pittsburgh organization, where he coached in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from 2003-05 and then in Pittsburgh from 2005-09.
Therrien took the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007-08, losing to Detroit in six games. He was fired the next season, and interim head coach Dan Bylsma led the team to its third Stanley Cup victory.
Therrien previously coached in Montreal's organization from 1997-2003, leading the Canadiens from November of 2000 to January of 2003. He went 77-77-36 in that span and went as far as the Eastern Conference semi-finals in 2001-02.
Therrien speaks French, which is looked highly upon by the front office and fan base in Montreal, as there's a huge French-speaking community there. That surely helped him get a foot in the door with this job.
