Welcome back, Kirk

MONTREAL – Five years after leaving Montreal, Kirk Muller is returning to where it all started.

In his first major move of the offseason, Marc Bergevin announced on Thursday evening that the team would be bringing in a new associate coach for the 2016-17 campaign. While most newcomers to the organization need time to transition to life in Montreal, the Canadiens’ latest acquisition should be able to step in a little more seamlessly than most.

After a discussion with his boss in St. Louis, Muller was given the green light to speak with interested teams about potential openings around the league. Despite having had a few chats with franchises with current head coaching vacancies, Muller instead jumped at the chance to return to his first NHL coaching home when Michel Therrien came calling.

“I was never a free agent as a hockey player on July 1; now I know what they go through,” joked Muller, who kicked off his NHL coaching career behind the Habs bench under Guy Carbonneau. “Right away with what [Michel] was looking for, he just made me feel so excited about him wanting me to come work with him and the staff and what they’re doing there. I loved Montreal as a player and a coach, and I had two great experiences. My heart is in Montreal. We’re from the Kingston area and my daughter just spent 10 years in Montreal. For us, it’s almost like coming home.”

After spending four years in Montreal as a player, helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 1993 before being named captain in 1994, Muller joined the Canadiens’ coaching staff in 2006-07 alongside his former teammate, where he stayed until moving to the Hurricanes’ organization in 2011. He’s spent the last two years continuing his apprenticeship under Ken Hitchcock in St. Louis, and the two helped lead the Blues to the Western Conference finals this spring.

Despite his success in the Gateway City, Muller knew he was ready for a new challenge in his old stomping grounds.

“Right away I could tell in [Michel’s] voice that he really believes in this group. You could see that he has the positive attitude that it was a tough year this year, but the key is to look at the team when they were at their best and they were winning. We talked about the style they played and the way the game is going and other positives,” explained Muller, whose first coaching gig was as the head coach of the Queen’s University Golden Gaels. “The biggest thing is when he said he wanted to opportunity to talk to me and see if we could work together. I see this with Marc already, too, their confidence in being open to working with other people and knowing that strength in a staff and the people you work with is so good for everybody.

“He made it very clear that he wants me to come and team up with him and the rest of the guys,” he added. “There’s a part of my personality that I think will work great with him and there’s stuff I can learn from him. If you look at the staffs that are put together …

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