Michel Therrien
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| Michel Therrien | |
 Therrien with the Penguins
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| Born | November 4, 1963 Montreal, Canada |
|---|---|
| Other names | Bulldog[1] |
| Occupation | Head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Predecessor | Ed Olczyk |
| Successor | Incumbent |
Michel Therrien (born November 4, 1963) is the current head coach of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins, and a former head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.[2] Therrien coached the Canadiens for three seasons, taking them to the Eastern Conference semi-finals in the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs. During the 2006–07 season, he coached the Penguins to one of the most successful single-season improvements in NHL history, finishing with a 47–24–11 record (105 pts), a berth in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, and a nomination for the Jack Adams Award, as the NHL's best coach.
Prior to his coaching career, Therrien played three years as a defenceman in the AHL, compiling a total of 86 points in 206 games and winning the Calder Cup in 1985 with the Sherbrooke Canadiens, on the same team as eventual Hall-of-Famer Patrick Roy. [3][4] Before coaching in the professional leagues, Therrien was a coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He is a single parent of two children, Elizabeth and Charles.
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[edit] Coaching Year by Year
[edit] 2000–2001
After stumbling out to a 5–13–2 record, the Montreal Canadiens fired their head coach Alain Vigneault and hired rookie Michel Therrien. The Canadiens went 23–27–13 under Michel and missed the playoffs.
[edit] 2001–2002
In his first full season as the Canadiens head coach, Michel led the habs to an impressive record of 36–31–15. A 16 point improvement from the previous year. In the playoffs, Therrien's Canadiens upset the top seeded Boston Bruins in 6 games before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes.
[edit] 2002–2003
After starting the season 16–12–6, the Canadiens slipped in the standings winning only 2 of their next 12 games. This prompted General Manager Andre Savard to fire Therrien with a record of 18–19–9. Therrien finished with the Canadiens with an overall record of 77–77–37.
[edit] 2003–2005
For two and a half seasons, Therrien was the head coach of the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He lead the Penguins to the Calder Cup playoffs in 2004 and 2005.
[edit] 2005–2006
After leading the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a franchise record start (21–1–2–1) in the 2005–06 season, Therrien was promoted by Pittsburgh on December 15, 2005 as a mid-season replacement for Ed Olczyk. The Pens, however, did not turn their season around going 14–29–8 under Therrien.
[edit] 2006–2007
The Penguins started the 2006–07 NHL season in mediocre fashion. However, they picked up play in January going 14–0–2 at one point. The streak led the Penguins to a 47–24–11 record, and a 5th place berth in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Pens fell in 5 games to the Ottawa Senators.
[edit] Coaching Record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| MTL | 2000–01 | 62 | 23 | 27 | 6 | 6 | (70) | 5th in Northeast | Missed Playoffs |
| MTL | 2001–02 | 82 | 36 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 87 | 4th in Northeast | Lost in Second Round |
| MTL | 2002–03 | 46 | 18 | 19 | 4 | 5 | (77) | 5th in Northeast | (fired) |
| PIT | 2005–06 | 51 | 14 | 29 | - | 8 | (58) | 5th in Atlantic | Missed Playoffs |
| PIT | 2006–07 | 82 | 47 | 24 | - | 11 | 105 | 2nd in Atlantic | Lost in First Round |
| PIT | 2007-08 | 82 | 47 | 27 | - | 8 | 102 | 1st in Atlantic | Lost in Finals |
| Total | 405 | 185 | 157 | 22 | 41 | .535 | |||
[edit] References
- ^ "Therrien's 2006 remarks have gone a long way", TSN, 2008-05-08. Retrieved on 2008-05-09.
- ^ Michel Therrien: http://www.nhl.com/lineups/coaches/therrien.html
- ^ Therrien takes Pens coach talk in stride - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
- ^ http://www.pittsburghpenguins.com/team/staff/bio.php?id=50
