'End of an Era': Longtime Montreal Canadiens Head Coach Retires at 61

Former Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien, who also coached the Pittsburgh Penguins to the 2008 SCF, has officially retired at 61 years old after a long career behind the bench.

It's the end of the road for former Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien, who has announced his retirement from coaching at 61 years old.

'I decided.. I had it in my head for some time.. I am retiring.

I think I've reached that point in my life.

I had a good conversation this week with Louis-Philippe Neveu at TVA, who treated me very well during those three wonderful years.

I had been thinking about it for a few months, and then when you feel that you need to move on to another stage, you have to do it.'

- Michel Therrien

From Fiery Press Conferences to a 2014 Conference Final, Therrien Defined a Habs Era

Not only did Therrien coach both the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins to lengthy playoff runs, but he also coached Pittsburgh to the 2008 SCF where they were beaten by the Detroit Red Wings.

Eventually coming back to Montreal, he took them to the 2014 ECF, where they fell short against the New York Rangers in a series most feel would have gone differently had goaltender Carey Price not been injured in Game 1.

During that postseason run, the Habs took down the divisional foe Boston Bruins in the ECSF in 7 games, leading to the infamous postgame handshake confrontation between Dale Weise and Milan Lucic.

Why Montreal Fans Still Debate His Legacy Behind the Canadiens Bench

Therrien coached the Canadiens from 2000 to 2003, and then again from 2012 to 2017.

The furthest that Montreal advanced in the playoffs with Therrien behind the bench was the 2014 ECF. They then won 50 games in 2014-15 but were beaten in the ECSF by the Tampa Bay Lightning.