NHL teams
Kyle Brasseur, ESPN 9y

Claude Julien, Peter Chiarelli discuss uncertain futures with Bruins

NHL, Boston Bruins

BOSTON -- With their respective job statuses up in the air after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in the past eight seasons, Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien and general manager Peter Chiarelli spoke with uncertainty regarding their futures with the organization during Monday's season-end news conference at TD Garden.

Chiarelli maintained, however, that the duo will perform their jobs as they usually would until informed otherwise.

"The job uncertainty, the questions surrounding us -- it's part of the job, and you have to deal with it and just move forward," Chiarelli said. "But it hasn't impacted my interviews, my discussions and my meetings with Claude. Business as usual."

Julien concurred.

"I think the bottom line is that it's a tough business, and right now it's not my decision to make. It'll all depend on how it's being viewed from above me," Julien said. "My job continues just like any other year. ... Unless I'm told otherwise, I've got to continue to do that. I've been here for eight years and enjoyed being here, and I certainly look forward to staying here.

"Again, having said that, I also understand the nature of this business."

In early January, Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs said the season would be a "complete failure" and "absolutely unacceptable" if the team missed the playoffs. Chiarelli echoed that sentiment last week when the team was on the verge of elimination, saying that everyone -- including himself -- was to blame for the team's struggles.

Ownership is expected to hold its annual postseason news conference soon. For now, Chiarelli said he hasn't received any indication as to when a decision regarding his or Julien's future would be made.

"We're all under review. There's no secret there," Chiarelli said. "We're going to go about our business and make the right decisions to make this team and the organization better."

Among popular criticism has been the insinuation that Julien's grip on the team as coach slipped as the season went on. Julien said he felt his message was well received by his players throughout the season and that that wasn't the issue. However, he also accepted the responsibility that poor execution of the team's game plan falls on him first and foremost.

"As a coach, you've got to try and get the most out of your players," he said. "My job as a coach is to get the most out of everybody, and that wasn't the case this year and I have to take ownership of that."

For their part, many of the players who were asked about the team's execution said the blame falls on them. With the buzzword in the locker room being "inconsistency," the common belief among the players was that the team didn't perform its best when it needed to.

"It's really about us not playing to our potential," alternate captain Patrice Bergeron said. "No one is going to stand here and say that they've had a good year or they've overachieved, obviously. It's definitely a down year for us, and we didn't get the results because of it.

"I definitely think that [Julien and Chiarelli] weren't the problem. It was us as players. We deserve a lot of the blame.

"I believe in this group. I hope it stays the same. At the same time, we understand the situation; we understand that it is a business. Bottom line is you have to win, especially in a city like Boston."

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