Stanley Cup winning coach Claude Julien is back behind the bench with two-year contract

The 66-year-old won't be coming back to an NHL bench anytime soon. Multiple reports had connected his name to openings around the league, including jobs tied to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, and Los Angeles Kings.

He walked past all of them.

What makes this more than a routine coaching hire is the context behind it. Julien spent the last four seasons with the St. Louis Blues, first as a scout and then as an assistant coach.

When Blues president Doug Armstrong confirmed his contract wouldn't be renewed this spring, Julien became a free agent with a résumé that should have made NHL phones ring.

It didn't happen. The coaching carousel kept spinning, and no head coaching offer came.

This move didn't appear out of nowhere. Julien worked as a senior advisor with HC Ambri-Piotta during the 2022-23 season, and that's where he first connected with René Matte.

Matte spent nine seasons as an assistant in Ambri and now follows Julien to Zurich as his top lieutenant.

The relationship that built this hire started in the Swiss lower ranks three years ago.

The ZSC Lions aren't a consolation prize either. They've won two of the last three National League championships and carry a roster loaded with former NHL players like Dennis Malgin, Sven Andrighetto, and Derek Grant.

Julien coached 1,274 regular-season NHL games across stints with the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and New Jersey Devils.

He won the Stanley Cup in 2011, took home the Jack Adams Trophy in 2009, and helped Canada win Olympic gold in 2014.

That résumé should command an NHL head coaching job. Instead, it's heading to Zurich, and that tells you everything about where the league's coaching carousel has landed.

At 66, Julien still had options. He just decided the best one wasn't in North America.