Canadiens Julien happy to coach his 1,000 games where his career started
MONTREAL — Claude Julien joined the Montreal Canadiens just in time to reach a major milestone by coaching his 1,000th career NHL game.
The 14-year veteran was set to hit the milestone when the Canadiens hosted to the New York Islanders on Thursday night, only three games after he was brought back for a second stint in Montreal last week after spending 10 years behind the Boston Bruins bench.
“I can’t believe it’s been 1,000 games because it goes so fast,” Julien said before the game. “But you don’t accomplish that without good people surrounding you, whether it’s players, general managers, assistant coaches.
“So much credit goes around to so many people for allowing you to reach 1,000 games. I’m certainly not downplaying it but like I said last year in Boston when I became their winningest coach, it’s great but let’s move on here. I’d like to see another 1,000 games in front of me so I’d better focus on that.”