Coaching career

Montreal Canadiens

In 2000, after stumbling out to a 5-13-2 record, the Montreal Canadiens fired Head Coach Alain Vigneault and hired rookie Michel Therrien. The Canadiens went 23-27-13 under Therrien and missed the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs.

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 2002 playoffs, Therrien's Canadiens upset the top-seeded Boston Bruins in six games before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes.

After starting the season 16-12-6, the Canadiens slipped in the standings, winning only two of their next 12 games. This prompted Canadiens 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.

Pittsburgh Penguins

For two-and-a-half seasons, Therrien was the head coach of the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He led the Penguins to the Calder Cup playoffs in 2004 and 2005.

After leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 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. The Penguins started the 2006-07 season in mediocre fashion. However, they picked up play in January, going 14-0-2 on one stretch. The streak led the Penguins to a 47-24-11 record and a fifth-place berth in the 2007 playoffs. The Pens, however, fell in five games to the Ottawa Senators.

During the 2006-07 season, Therrien coached the Penguins to one of the most successful single-season improvements in NHL history, finishing with a 47-24-11 record (105 points), a berth in the 2007 playoffs and a nomination for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's Coach of the Year.

Despite a slow start the next season, in 2007-08, 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 with a 4-2 win against their state-rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers. In the first round of the 2008 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 to the 2010-11 NHL season.

The next season, 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 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs and with the Penguins struggling to stay in the playoff race, Therrien was relieved of his duties as head coach of the Penguins. Therrien finished two games behind Red Kelly for the second-longest tenure as Penguins' head coach. Dan Bylsma took over as Therrien's replacement. After his termination, he continued to reside in Pittsburgh and followed the team as they advanced to the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals and won the Stanley Cup in Game 7 in Detroit.

Return to Montreal

On June 5, 2012, Montreal Canadiens Executive Vice President and General Manager Marc Bergevin announced the appointment of Michel Therrien as the club’s new head coach. His first season was a successful one, leading the Habs to first in the Northeast Division after the team had finished last in the previous season. However, the team ended up losing in the first round to the Ottawa Senators in five games. In his second season, 2013-14, he led the Habs to the Eastern Conference Finals, though the team lost to the New York Rangers in six games. At the end of the season, General Manager Marc Bergevin rewarded Therrien with a new contract, a four-year extension. With the contract, he became the highest-paid coach in the history of the Canadiens.

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season							Post-season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
MTL	2000-01	62	23	27	6	6	(58)	5th in Northeast	Missed playoffs
MTL	2001-02	82	36	31	12	3	87	4th in Northeast	Lost in second round (CAR)
MTL	2002-03	46	18	19	5	4	(45)	4th in Northeast	(Fired)
PIT	2005-06	51	14	29	-	8	(36)	5th in Atlantic	Missed playoffs
PIT	2006-07	82	47	24	-	11	105	2nd in Atlantic	Lost in first round (OTT)
PIT	2007-08	82	47	27	-	8	102	1st in Atlantic	Lost in Stanley Cup Final (DET)
PIT	2008-09	57	27	25	-	5	(59)		(Fired)
MTL	2012-13	48	29	14	-	5	63	1st in Northeast	Lost in first round (OTT)
MTL	2013-14	82	46	28	-	8	100	3rd in Atlantic	Lost in Eastern Conference Final (NYR)
MTL	2014-15	82	50	22	-	10	110	1st in Atlantic	Lost in second round (TBL)
MTL	2015-16	82	38	38	-	6	82	6th in Atlantic	Missed playoffs
Total		756	375	284	26	73

[ Source: Wikipedia ]