On February 9, the Bruins went through a public relations nightmare with the firing of the wildly popular Claude Julien after a decade behind the bench. It wasn’t the axing itself that got the ire of Bruins fans, but rather the announcement of the Julien news and subsequent press conference coming on the same day as the Patriots’ Super Bowl parade through Downtown Boston.
For the rest of the season, GM Don Sweeney tabbed Bruce Cassidy as interim coach. Cassidy, who earned a promotion as an assistant coach following a five-year stint as the head coach in Providence.