Michel Therrien is the current head coach of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins, and a former head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. Therrien coached the Canadiens for three seasons, taking them to the Eastern Conference semi-finals in the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs. During the 2006–07 season, he coached the Penguins to one of the most successful single-season improvements in NHL history, finishing with a 47–24–11 record , a berth in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, and a nomination for the Jack Adams Award, as the NHL's best coach.

Prior to his coaching career, Therrien played three years as a defenceman in the AHL, compiling a total of 86 points in 206 games and winning the Calder Cup in 1985 with the Sherbrooke Canadiens, on the same team as eventual Hall-of-Famer Patrick Roy. Before coaching in the professional leagues, Therrien was a coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He is a single parent of two children, Elizabeth and Charles.