On the list of problems plaguing the Boston Bruins during their first three games, Claude Julien’s coaching is the least of their concerns.

In his ninth season behind the Black and Gold bench, Julien is currently the longest tenured coach in the National Hockey League. His track record on Causeway Street is nothing short of impressive: four division titles (Three in the Northeast and one in the Atlantic), two Eastern Conference championships (2011 and 2013) and of course a Stanley Cup in 2011. Those accolades in Boston also earned him a spot as an assistant coach for Team Canada during their run to the gold medal in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Still, his name has been linked to the coaches hot seat on numerous occasions. He survived each of those instances.

A Game 7 loss to the Canadiens in 2011 — a year after watching his team blow a 3-0 lead to the Flyers in the Eastern Conference semifinals — would’ve ultimately sealed his fate. He was saved by Nathan Horton’s heroics and the rest was history.

Had the Bruins lost to the Maple Leafs in 2013, Julien might have been given the pink slip from management. He survived that too.

This off-season, a new General Manager replaced Peter Chiarelli, who had been very supportive of Claude over the years. That new GM, Don Sweeney, notified Julien that he would return for his ninth season in hopes of getting the team back to the postseason.

Still, Julien couldn’t escape the hot seat talk entering the 2015-16 season. That led to Bruins President Cam Neely coming to his defense at Bruins Media Day.

[quote_box]”I’ve read some things where you know people have mentioned that Claude could be on the hot seat. I think it’s unfair to say that,” Neely said. “…A lot of things happen throughout the course of the year that’s not necessarily just on the coach so, you know, I think it’s unfair. I know why certain things are said at times but it’s really unfair to start the season where you know it’s out there where the coach could be on the hot seat I think it’s unfair to Claude.”[/quote_box]

Whether Neely’s remarks was seen as defending his coach or trying to shift the narrative, there is some truth to that.

Through three games in the 2015-16 season, it’s clear that the Bruins are in a deep hole. Their defense, once a strength under Julien’s system, is now a weakness as their blue-line is filled with aging veterans like captain Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg and young defensemen still trying to get their feet wet like Joe Morrow and Colin Miller. The communication breakdowns and costly turnovers in their own end is leaving Tuukka Rask out to dry. Rask himself has allowed a few soft goals and is not absolve from this debacle either, as he admitted after Monday’s 6-3 loss against the Lightning.

On the flip side, the Bruins have been getting some decent production on the power play, while David Krejci and David Pastrnak continue to develop some good chemistry. Still, their offense is a work in progress, especially the third line of Ryan Spooner, Jimmy Hayes and now Chris Kelly, which has struggled the first three games.

Despite the common buzzwords heard around TD Garden such as “reboot” or “rephase,” the Bruins are a team in transition. This transition might be too tall for Julien, who has a tough situation getting the most of this roster that is not yet ready for primetime, to overcome.

Fairly or unfairly, the talk of Julien being on the hot seat will progress during the season. There’s some speculation from Bruins fans and media on him lasting the rest of the month if he sees his team continuing to struggle.

If the first postgame question that Julien received about his job security is any indication on Monday, then that speculation will only heat up.

“Next question,” Julien said about concerns about his job security.

Indeed there are many concerns that should be addressed. Unfortunately for Julien, if the growing pains continue over the next few weeks then he may wind up as the fall guy. With this team, that is very unfair for the ninth year bench boss, but that’s the way life operates sometimes.