The Montreal Canadiens have named Kirk Muller of Kingston, Ontario their interim head coach according to Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette on Thursday. Muller is taking over from Claude Julien of Blind River, Ontario, who was taken to hospital with chest pains. According to Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin, the reason why Muller is in hospital is not related to coronavirus.
It is expected that Muller will be the Canadiens head coach for the remainder of the Canadiens’ first round playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers. The series is taking place in Toronto in front of zero spectators at the Scotiabank Arena.
There is no doubt that Muller has some significant work to do. The Canadiens were beaten 2-1 by the Flyers in game one of the series on Wednesday. Julien was the Canadiens head coach during their game one loss.
Muller has three seasons under his belt coaching in the National Hockey League. He was with the Carolina Hurricanes from 2011 to 2014. In that period of time, Carolina had a record of 80 wins, 80 regulation losses and 27 losses in extra time.
Muller played 19 seasons in the NHL from 1984 to 2003. During his two decades as a player, Muller played 267 games with the Canadiens from 1991 to 1995. In addition to winning a Stanley Cup with the Canadiens as a player in 1993, Muller had 104 goals and 143 assists for 247 points.
