Former Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy met with the media Thursday, including Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com, to discuss his recent firing. After explaining how much he cared about the organization, Cassidy indicated that he does want to coach again next season. “This is what I do,” Cassidy said when asked if he would coach in the NHL next season should an opportunity present itself.
The 57-year-old coach is still under contract with the Bruins for next season, meaning other teams would need to cover part or all of the $3M he is owed on the final year of an extension he signed in 2019. That came just a few months after the Cassidy-led Bruins lost in the Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues, a loss he referenced Thursday as something that still bothers him.
Interestingly enough, Cassidy wasn’t really high on most lists of coaching candidates when he first took over in Boston. When he was announced as the replacement for Claude Julien partway through the 2016-17 season, he was regarded as a good AHL coach who had failed in his previous stint behind an NHL bench. Cassidy’s first go-round as a head coach at that level was with the Washington Capitals, where he lost in the first round in year one and then was fired partway through his second season after an 8-16-1 start.
He hadn’t even had much playoff success in the minor leagues, though his AHL teams were regularly near the top of the standings in the regular season. In the NHL, he took the Bruins to at least the second round in four of his five full seasons, and reached the postseason in all six years he was behind the bench. Overall, his record improved from 47-47-9-7 with the Capitals to 245-108-46 with the Bruins, though his overall playoff winning percentage is still below .500.
Confirming Thursday that he has talked to “a number of teams” already, it appears as though he’ll get his wish to be behind an NHL bench again next season. He was linked to the Philadelphia Thursday morning, though, with so many openings around the league, Cassidy will likely have several interested teams.
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