The date was February 7, 2017, the Boston Bruins were 26-23-8, treading water in the Eastern Conference standings, after losing a few days earlier to the Toronto Maple Leafs, giving them 10 losses in their previous 16 games.
Don Sweeney, Cam Neely and the rest of the Bruins Brass decided they had seen enough and pulled the trigger. They fired Claude Julien after 10 seasons with the team. 10 seasons that included a Stanley Cup run, a second trip to the finals and a President’s Trophy. The team was three years removed from that last accomplishment and had failed to make the playoffs the two seasons since.