Claude Julien is back in Montreal eleven years after he left, older, wiser, and more successful than his first stint coaching an NHL team in Montreal.

Friday was the first practice for the team under Julien, and the first practice since Michel Therrien was fired on Tuesday.

The team's captain said it was difficult to hear Therrien was gone.

"It was really hard news to hear Michel get fired because he made such an impact on my career. When I got that news it was pretty upsetting,' said Max Pacioretty.

But Julien has always wanted to return to Montreal.

"There's no doubt as we started speaking and looking at it I got excited. I am from the Ottawa area and when I came here to Montreal I never lied. I was a childhood Montreal Canadiens fan," said Julien.

The question is simple: can Julien take the team that Therrien coached to the top of the Atlantic division to the Stanley Cup?

Goalie Carey Price said it was evident that after five years under Therrien's system, including last year's dreadful seasons, players were no longer listening.

"D think we, our team, wasn't responding," said Price.

He said the change in Firday's practice alone was easy to spot.

"You saw the energy we had today and at practice and it was good."

So far Julien has changed lines, putting Alex Galchenyuk back into the centre spot on the first line, with Alex Radulov and Pacioretty.

Tomas Plekanec has been move up to play with Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron, while Phillip Danault has been shifted to the third line.

"I came in and I saw the lines and I was excited. I gotta find a way to be solid tomorrow and help the team win," said Galchenyuk.

The idea is to get more speed out of the forwards, and hopefully lead to a more aggressive style of play with more scoring.

"I'd like us to be a hard team to play against. Hard team doesn't mean you're running everybody through the boards, it doesn't mean you're feisty. I want teams to play a certain way that is going to make it hard for others to have success," said Julien.

The first game with Julien as coach is Saturday at 2 p.m. as the Canadiens host the Winnipeg Jets.