Letting opportunities to acquire top-end talent slip by can lead to the undoing of NHL teams.

It's why the Montreal Canadiens swiftly severed ties with Michel Therrien, the long-tenured coach in charge of a club entering its bye week in first place in the Atlantic Division.

An upgrade was made available.

"He's a superstar," Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said Wednesday of his new coach, Claude Julien, according to TSN's John Lu.

"Julien is the best man for the situation," Bergevin added, after signing the coach to a long-term deal just over a week after he was fired by Montreal's greatest rival.

The GM said removing Therrien was a difficult decision - made without the request of ownership - but that it had to be done.

"Michel and I worked very closely together over the past five years," Bergevin said, via the Canadian Press.

"We fought some big battles and experienced strong emotions together ... our working relationship has always been marked by intensity, sincerity, and emotion and our meeting yesterday was no different.

"That being said, I've reached the conclusion we were at a turning point and that is why I decided to make this change in the club's best interests."

Bergevin also revealed that no interview process was conducted, and that Therrien could have been fired even if Julien wasn't an option.

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