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MONTREAL -- General manager Bob Gainey decided he was the best person to straighten out the slumping Montreal Canadiens.

	Gainey

	Julien

Gainey fired coach Claude Julien on Saturday and made himself interim coach. He also brought in former team captain Guy Carbonneau as an associate coach who will take over as head coach at the end of the season.

"I'm the one who's responsible and this gives time for Guy to get comfortable with the team and the players," Gainey said. "It's more fair for myself to step in and take responsibility until the end of the season."

Julien, hired on Jan. 17, 2003, leaves his first NHL coaching job with a 72-62-10 record. He helped Montreal reach the second round of the playoffs in 2004.

But after a 12-3-1 start, the Canadiens won only seven of the next 25 games and dropped from first to 10th in the Eastern Conference. They were coming off a 2-1 loss in Colorado on Wednesday night in which they blew a third-period lead.

"The coach is our boss and he makes everyone accountable and if it doesn't happen, like in any job, the guy in charge pays the price," team captain Saku Koivu said. "But it's always unfortunate when it happens."

Assistant Rick Green also was fired. Doug Jarvis was promoted from assistant to associate coach, while goaltender coach Roland Melanson remained in his job.

Gainey, a former head coach in Minnesota, made his coaching debut with the Canadiens on Saturday night against the San Jose Sharks. Montreal scored six times in the second period for a 6-2 victory.

The 52-year-old Gainey, a top defensive forward who helped Montreal win five Stanley Cup titles during his Hall of Fame playing career, became head coach of the former Minnesota North Stars in 1990. He was coach and general manager for the Stars from 1992-96, and remained the GM until 2002, winning a Stanley Cup in 1999.

Gainey said a coaching change was needed to get some of the team's best players, particularly goalie Jose Theodore and defensemen Sheldon Souray and Andrei Markov, to play better.

"There are players who went through tough times, maybe injuries or personal things," Gainey said. "It's normal for a player to go through periods where they're not at their best, but when it goes on for a month or more, it's not normal.

"A team can't function unless its key players give their maximum."

The move also adds a solid dose of leadership -- Gainey and Carbonneau were two of Montreal's most respected captains in the last 25 years -- to a team that has been lacking direction in recent months.

Gainey notified Julien of the change by phone early Saturday morning and will meet with him later this week. Julien and Green both remain under contract.

Julien is the third head coach fired in the NHL this season after Ed Olczyk in Pittsburgh and Steve Stirling of the New York Islanders. Larry Robinson stepped down as coach of the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 19.

Carbonneau, who was serving as assistant GM for the Dallas Stars, worked as an assistant coach under Michel Therrien in Montreal from 2000-02.

He said the decision to return to Montreal was an easy one.

"I really enjoyed the experience when I came here five years ago, being behind the bench with Michel Therrien," said Carbonneau, who has no head coaching experience. "I couldn't wait for a second chance to come back in a different position."

Gainey and Carbonneau played together in Montreal and worked together in Dallas.

"I've been gone from here for three years," said Carbonneau. "I don't know a lot of the players that are here, so I think it would have been unfair for me to come in and try to control everything from the start."

Carbonneau said he has a long-term contract as head coach but did not say how many years it will run. Dallas did not demand compensation for letting him go.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press