Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin gives his take on the firing of Julien and Muller

Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin took to the podium on Wednesday afternoon to address the firing of Claude Julien and Kirk Muller.

Bergevin said that he didn't believe Julien had lost the room, but the club was lacking a sense of direction, adding that the shortened season played a role in the urgency for change.

He said that he wanted to give Julien and Muller a chance to turn things around during the team's recent seven day break, but ultimately the last three games gave him more reason to make a change immediately. Bergevin also said that he cannot pinpoint when the players stopped responding to Julien's system, but he wanted to make the change sooner rather than later to avoid the team falling farther behind in the standings.

He told reporters that "I didn't come here to smile and tell jokes. I said during camp we mean business... Expectations are high and I'm trying to right the ship and I expect the players to respond." He also told his club that "Every player in this room needs to raise his game."

Bergevin reiterated that Dominique Ducharme would have been his guy "quarantine or no quarantine" adding that he is a new model of coach that is the right person to guide this club forward.

As for the pressure that may be on Bergevin now after firing his second coach, he said "I'm a big man, and I can take 100 per cent accountability for my decisions."

#Habs Bergevin says he didn't feel Julien had lost the room, but the club was lacking a sense of direction. The short season provoked a sense of urgency to make a move now.— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) February 24, 2021

#Habs Bergevin says he wanted to give Julien and Muller the chance to correct course in practices during the team's recent week off, but the 3 games coming out of the break made his decision clear.— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) February 24, 2021

#Habs Bergevin says he can't pinpoint when players stopped responding to Julien's messaging but he saw a pattern emerging that reminded him of the two 8-game winless streaks from last season and didn't want to wait any longer to make this change.— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) February 24, 2021

"I didn't come here to smile and tell jokes. I said during camp we mean business... Expectations are high and I'm trying to right the ship and I expect the players to respond."--Marc Bergevin.— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) February 24, 2021

#Habs Bergevin says Ducharme is a «new model of coach» that will suit the club's profile now. Quarantine or not, Ducharme would've been Beegevin's choice to succeed Julien.— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) February 24, 2021

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