For the second time in his coaching career, Bruce Cassidy finds himself being let go as a head coach in the National Hockey League. The first time came in the summer of 2022, when the Boston Bruins released Cassidy. He was soon picked up by the Vegas Golden Knights, who also let their head coach, Peter DeBoer, leave that summer.
NHL news: Vegas Golden Knights fire Bruce Cassidy and hire John Tortorella
Cassidy entered Vegas with an edge as he is one Stanley Cup game away in 2019 with the Bruins. The talent was assembled; they needed a coach to push them to win. In his first season with the Golden Knights, Bruce Cassidy won the Stanley Cup. But since then, despite winning 60 percent of their games, the team has regressed.
Whether it was bad roster construction, poor goaltending, or something else, the Vegas Golden Knights weren’t living up to expectations, so GM Kelly McCrimmon felt a change was needed. But it begs the question: did Cassidy lose the room, or was something else brewing?
As Hockey Insider Elliotte Friedman notes on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, along with NHL Network and Sportsnet, Bruce Cassidy is a tough coach to play for, and he demands a lot from his players. There was tension between the group that started when he arrived.
Bruce Cassidy is a great coach, but he wants to. And I think one of the things is now he has two careers, and it seems like one of those guys, three, four years, and then it starts grinding players.
And last year, the Edmonton series where the Oilers beat them (Vegas), I heard before that series ended, before Game 5, there was a really intense meeting between Cassidy and some of those players, and I think at the end of last year, it destroyed their relationship. Some of the players liked what Cassidy said. I know that some players have said certain things to the management. Management is backing Cassidy, but it seems to be very clear this year, and apparently, Vegas management has seen it too, that his message wasn’t getting through. The relationship between the players was not as strong as before, sometimes it’s just a matter of time.
As with any player-coach relationship, things are sour. McCrimmon said at Monday’s press conference that Cassidy did not lose the room. It was more than the team losing energy and spirit. The players echoed that sentiment, although captain Mark Stone felt the dressing room was worn out.
NHL Rumors: Vegas Golden Knights Looking at Centers
However, it’s not like John Tortorella isn’t a tough coach. Sometimes you just need a new voice that delivers the same message. The way Tortorella coaches, he can get guys to play with the intensity needed to win.
But this is the second time the players are unhappy with Cassidy and the coaching style. But you know Bruce Cassidy will land on his feet somewhere, given his pedigree.
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