Bruce Cassidy, 57, has been hired as the third coach of the Vegas Golden Knights as the team entered its sixth year in the league. As he put it, the decision to accept the offer was quite a “no-brainer”.
He replaced Pete DeBoer, who was dismissed on May 16 after the team missed the playoffs for the first time. This makes Cassidy the team’s third coach since they joined the NHL in 2017.
Cassidy entered was hired by the Golden Knights (43-31-8) after they lagged by three points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup playoffs from the Western Conference.
Team manager Kelly McCrimmon was certain that Cassidy had what was required to coach the Golden Knights, saying he embodied the traits which the team had always expected.
“The Golden Knights are very pleased to welcome Bruce Cassidy as the coach to our team,” McCrimmon said. He said that Cassidy’s success in Boston during his six year-stint was impressive. McCrimmon further explained that Cassidy’s Boston Bruins team had a clear identity, making them some of the best in the NHL in terms of goals for, goals against, and goal differential.“I was sick of being unemployed,” Cassidy said, joking about being out of work for a relatively short period of time. After stops in Boston and Washington, this will be Cassidy’s third attempt as an NHL coach. Previously, he worked for Golden Knights president of hockey operations George McPhee in Washington, coaching the Washington Capitals with the latter for the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons before being dismissed.
Cassidy was asked if he had something to prove, to which he responded, “I do. I go let go”. He did not consider the notion as something of a “revenge tour”, however; he just wanted to prove that he can lead a team to a Stanley Cup.
Cassidy has been attempting to win the Stanley Cup for the first time throughout his NHL coaching career, and Vegas Golden Knights are the team he wants to finish the job with. Considering they have been one of the NHL’s most successful teams since participating in the league in 2017, managing to record four playoffs appearances as well as a trip to the Stanley Cup Final, this would be the right move.
“I want my name on the Stanley Cup … and I believe this team has the ability to do that,” he said.
Moving to Las Vegas
Before moving to Las Vegas to begin coaching the Golden Knights, he had one challenge he needed to resolve—convincing his wife, Julia, as well as his children, Shannon and Cole, to move with him.
“I’m from Canada while my wife is from New Jersey. Would this affect the kids?” Cassidy said on Thursday during his introductory press conference. He said that he might need to convince his son Cole to get on board with the Las Vegas Raiders instead of the New England Patriots.
“It will be a challenge since he’s a New England kid. I’ll tell him he can have the [Boston] Red Sox, but he has to give up the Pats,” he added.