"Claude will coach the team in October, November and December, as well," Bergevin said at the general managers meetings in Boca Raton, Florida.
Julien, in his second stint as Canadiens coach, is 119-105-31 since replacing Michel Therrien on Feb. 15, 2017. The Canadiens reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2016-17, going 16-7-1 in 24 games under Julien, who agreed to a five-year contact when he replaced Therrien, but lost to the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference First Round.
They have not been back to the postseason since and are in danger of missing the playoffs this season. They entered their game against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV) nine points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division and nine points behind the Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets for the first wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"No one is satisfied with the results we have achieved so far this year," Bergevin said. "And we will have to do everything to raise expectations next year in order to achieve our goals. But it's not a change of coach that will get us there. Our players must also take the necessary means to help us achieve these goals. We all have to take the blame for this year and it's collectively that we'll get better next year."
Julien went 72-62-15 with 10 ties from 2002-03 to 2005-06 during his first stint with Montreal.
Julien is 657-437-148 with 10 ties in 1,252 games with the Canadiens, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. He's 13th in NHL history in regular-season wins and 63-51 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He coached the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup and the 2013 Stanley Cup Final. He won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2009.
