The Montreal Canadiens hired Michel Therrien to coach the team after a tumultuous 2011-12 campaign saw them fire Jacques Martin and replace him with Randy Cunneyworth. The English-only speaking head coach was not met with a rounding applause from the local media and owner Geoff Molson publicly stated Cunneyworth would just be there until they could find a permanent head coach that could speak French.
That permanent head coach ended up being Michel Therrien. With the team having just missed the 2012 postseason, Therrien helped guide them back to the playoffs in 2013. He did the same in 2014 and they marched to the Eastern Conference Final before losing Carey Price to injury and then the series in six games.