Michel Therrien Michel Therrien ( born November 4 , 1963 in Montreal , Quebec ) is a former hockey player and head coach of the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins . Therrien coached the Canadiens for three seasons , taking them to the Eastern Conference semi - finals in the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs . During the 2006 – 07 season , he coached the Penguins to one of the most successful single - season improvements in NHL history , finishing with a 47 – 24 – 11 record ( 105 pts ) , a berth in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs , and a nomination for the Jack Adams Award , as the NHL ' s best coach . The following season , the Penguins under Therrien made it to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals , ultimately losing to the Detroit Red Wings in six games . On February 15 , 2009 , with the Penguins struggling to make the playoffs , the Penguins organization announced that it had relieved Therrien of coaching duties and had promoted its AHL affiliate Wilkes - Barre Scranton Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma to serve as interim head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins . Prior to his coaching career , Therrien played three years as a defenceman in the AHL , compiling a total of 86 points in 206 games and winning the Calder Cup in 1985 with the Sherbrooke Canadiens , on the same team as eventual Hall - of - Famer Patrick Roy . Before coaching in the professional leagues , Therrien was a coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League . He is a single parent of two children , Elizabeth and Charles . Coaching career . 2000 – 2001 . After stumbling out to a 5 – 13 – 2 record , the Montreal Canadiens fired their head coach Alain Vigneault and hired rookie Michel Therrien . The Canadiens went 23 – 27 – 13 under Michel and missed the playoffs . 2001 – 2002 . In his first full season as the Canadiens head coach , Michel led the Habs to an impressive record of 36 – 31 – 15 . A 16 point improvement from the previous year . In the playoffs , Therrien ' s Canadiens upset the top seeded Boston Bruins in 6 games before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes . 2002 – 2003 . After starting the season 16 – 12 – 6 , the Canadiens slipped in the standings winning only 2 of their next 12 games . This prompted General Manager André Savard to fire Therrien with a record of 18 – 19 – 9 . Therrien finished with the Canadiens with an overall record of 77 – 77 – 37 . 2003 – 2005 . For two and a half seasons , Therrien was the head coach of the AHL Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins . He lead the Penguins to the Calder Cup playoffs in 2004 and 2005 . 2005 – 2006 . After leading the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins to a franchise record start ( 21 – 1 – 2 – 1 ) in the 2005 – 06 season , Therrien was promoted by Pittsburgh on December 15 , 2005 , as a mid - season replacement for Ed Olczyk . The Pens , however , did not turn their season around going 14 – 29 – 8 under Therrien . 2006 – 2007 . The Penguins started the 2006 – 07 NHL season in mediocre fashion . However , they picked up play in January going 14 – 0 – 2 at one point . The streak led the Penguins to a 47 – 24 – 11 record , and a 5th place berth in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs . The Pens fell in 5 games to the Ottawa Senators . 2007 – 2008 . Despite a slow start the Pens began to turn things around in November 2007 . They would go on to win the 2008 Winter Classic and later clinch the Atlantic Division Championship with a 4 - 2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers . In the first round of the 2008 NHL Playoffs , the Pens avenged their 2007 playoff series loss by downing the Ottawa Senators , in a four game sweep . They then defeated the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers each in five games , to win the 2008 Eastern Conference Championship and the Prince of Wales Trophy . The Pens eventually lost in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals to the Detroit Red Wings in six games , finishing the playoffs with a 14 - 6 record . On July 18 , 2008 , Therrien signed a contract extension with the Penguins through the 2010 – 11 NHL season . 2008 – 2009 . The Penguins shot out to one of the best starts in franchise history , only to slow down considerably heading into December . The slide continued , and on February 15 , 2009 , a day after a humiliating 6 - 2 loss to the Maple Leafs and with the Penguins struggling to stay in the playoff race , Therrien was relieved of his duties as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins . Therrien finished four games behind Eddie Johnston for the longest tenure as Penguins ' head coach . Dan Bylsma took over as head coach .