*Photo from CBS Sports*
As one coach goes, another coach enters. The Vegas Golden Knights have hired Bruce Cassidy as their next head coach, according to NHL Network's Kevin Weekes. The Golden Knights have confirmed the news, making the deal official.
Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon said of hiring Cassidy that "We were thorough, we did not interview a long list of candidates, we were pretty specific about what we were looking for, what we felt the right coach for our team needed to be. Partway through that process, the decision was made in Boston where Bruce was available, and able to be contacted. We got permission from Boston, which is part of how that process works. Really, it's eight days or whatever it's been since this happened for Bruce, so a lot's gone on in a short period of time."
After a disappointing season in Vegas that saw the Golden Knights miss the playoffs for the first time in team history, Pete Deboer was fired as head coach. They pivoted quickly to Cassidy after he was fired by the Boston Bruins, with Cassidy becoming the 3rd head coach in team history.
Cassidy said on Thursday that "I just want to prove to myself, more importantly, that I'm capable of doing the job and winning, winning in the postseason in the postseason. So, there's a little bit of that. it's not going to consume me every day, by any means. When you come close to winning to Cup, it's always in the back of your mind and you want to finish the job. I definitely have that mindset. where I'm at."
In 5 full seasons as the head coach of the Bruins, they were routinely one of the best defensive teams in the NHL under Cassidy. In his tenure, Boston was never outside of the top 5 in the league in goals against per game, and was never outside the top 3 in expected goals against at 5 on 5 play.
Cassidy joins the Golden Knights with an impressive coaching resume. In 6 seasons in Boston, 5 full seasons, he led the Bruins to the playoffs in every season, making it past the first round in 4 of those years. He led Boston to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2018-2019, where they lost to the St. Louis Blues in 7 games. He won the Jack Adams award in 2019-2020, and is 12th all time in points percentage as a head coach.
The hiring of Cassidy makes him just the second head coach hired this offseason. The New York Islanders were the first, promoting assistant coach Lane Lambert to head coach after firing Barry Trotz.
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