NHL coaches band together to wish Claude Julien well after he's rushed to hospital

In case you missed the news earlier today, Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien was rushed by ambulance to a local Toronto area hospital after suffering from chest pains. He's not expected to re-join the team for the duration of their Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers. Assistant coach Kirk Muller will fill in while Julien recovers.

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TORONTO -- Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced on Thursday that head coach Claude Julien experienced chest pain during the night on Wednesday and was taken to a Toronto hospital for further testing.

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Habs general manager Marc Bergevin released the following statement:

"Good afternoon. I'm here to inform you of the reason Claude Julien was not here this morning at practice. Claude experienced chest pain during the night. We immediately consulted our doctors and it was agreed to transfer him to the hospital by ambulance. He's presently there and he's undergoing tests to determine the exact nature of his condition. This has nothing to do with COVID.  

We don't expect him to be back during this series against the Flyers. Kirk [Muller], Dominique [Ducharme], and Luke [Richardson] will share the responsibility, however, Kirk is the associate head coach and he will assume the responsibility of head coach until Claude's return."

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It goes without saying but our thoughts and prayers go out to Julien and his family.

In that vein, several coaches around the NHL have also come forward to wish Julien a healthy recovery. Most notably Julien's counterpart with the Philadelphia Flyers Alain Vigneault seems shaken up. The pair have been friends and supporters of each other since they were just 20 years old. Flyers reporter Stephen Whyno reports that Vigneault was indeed shaken up when he learned of the news.

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Julien's former team the Boston Bruins, with whom he won a Stanley Cup with in 2011, has also wished Julien well.

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 Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green also publicly wished Julien well at his morning media availability following last night's huge Game 1 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

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