Report: Canucks linked to former Bruins and Habs coach Claude Julien

It's not exactly a secret that this season has been an unmitigated disaster for the Vancouver Canucks.

After an offseason of activity, the Canucks entered the 2021-22 campaign with nearly a dozen new players on the roster and an improved outlook on things moving forward. And then the puck dropped...

The Canucks are an abysmal 6-12-2 in their first 20 games this season and there are rumours swirling that forwards J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat are in play on the trade market and that GM Jim Benning and head coach Travis Green are all operating on borrowed time. In other words, it's an absolute shit show in Vancouver.

So... what happens next? Does Green get the axe? Does Benning make one final trade in a desperate attempt to right the ship?

Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported today that "changes are coming" for the team and that the organization "is doing external research on potential candidates."

One of those candidates according to Friedman is former Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien.

Check it out:

Some of that is because the organization is doing external research on potential candidates, both in the front office and behind the bench. Obviously, you try to keep that as quiet as possible, but there’s always the risk of leakage. Team Canada is expected to name Claude Julien as its head coach at the upcoming Channel One and Spengler Cups, with the added possibility of coaching the Olympic Team if NHLers don’t go. (Bruce Boudreau and Scott Walker are the expected assistants.)

It is believed that if the Canucks wished to speak to Julien, for example, Montreal would not block permission.

It’s stressful, and everyone internally -- from the offices to the dressing room -- is on-edge waiting for something to happen. Best way out is for everyone to row in the same direction, but that clearly isn’t happening.

- Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet

Now, if you're a Canucks fan you might be thinking what I'm thinking...

Julien, the man who hoisted the Stanley Cup against the Canucks with his Boston Bruins in 7 games is parachuted into a messy situation in Vancouver? Anyone else getting serious "Mike Keenan vibes" circa 1998 just a few years after his New York Rangers bested the Canucks in 7 games?