Thanks to another late season collapse, the Bruins failed to make the playoffs for the second straight year. So, who has to shoulder the blame? Cam Neely? Don Sweeney? Claude Julien? The players? I think all parties involved should the blame but to fire Julien is not the answer.

Julien is one of the best coaches in the NHL. Firing him would be a mistake. If anything, Cam Neely should be fired. He signed off on Peter Chiarelli’s questionable contracts a few years back and he green lighted Don Sweeney’s two horrible trades at the deadline. I know Neely is a Bruins legend but he needs to be held accountable. 

If the Bruins fire Julien, who will replace him? Mike Milbury? Please. Milbury is a has been who has done nothing to deserve another shot in the NHL. He ran the Islanders into the ground as coach and GM and all he’s done since is run his mouth as a talking head in the media. There will be other high profiled coaches such as Guy Boucher, Marc Crawford, Jacques Martin and Adam Oates who will be linked to the job but I don’t think any of them are better coaches than Julien.

Julien deserves to be criticized for the performance of the team the last two years but let’s not forget that he is the winningest coach in Bruins history and he’s won a Stanley Cup here. Before fans run out him out of town, think about what he’s done for the organization. 

It’s easy to put the blame on the coach and get rid of the him but if I were the Bruins brass, I would think twice before I fired Claude Julien. Replacing him will not be easy and trust me, Julien will have plenty of suitors elsewhere. He’ll get an offer within days of his termination. If the Jacobs family, Neely and Sweeney were smart, they would show patience and retain Julien.