LAS VEGAS (AP) – Bruce Cassidy has not been out of work for long after being hired to coach the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, just over a week after being fired by the Boston Bruins.
Cassidy becomes the Golden Knights’ third coach and replaces Peter DeBoer, who was fired after Vegas missed the playoffs for the first time in its five-year history.
“I’m excited to join an organization that shares my commitment to win, and I can’t wait to work with the talent that has come together in Las Vegas,” Cassidy said in a statement. “It’s been awesome to see the city embrace the Golden Knights from afar, and my family and I look forward to being a part of that.”
Cassidy, 57, had a 245-108-46 record and led the Bruins to six consecutive playoff appearances after replacing Claude Julien in the final months of the 2016-17 campaign. He was fired on June 6, a month after the Bruins lost a seven-game first-round game to Carolina.
Vegas becomes Cassidy’s third stop as head coach after a two-year stint in Washington (2002-04), where the Ottawa native worked under the Knights hockey operations president. George McPhee, who was the CEO at the time. Cassidy coached the Capitals in a playoff appearance in his first season after compiling a 39-29-8 record during the 2002-03 regular season.
Cassidy has an overall record of 292-155-53, accompanied by 38 postseason wins. Their most successful campaign was 2018-19, when the Bruins reached the Stanley Cup final, where they lost to St. Louis. Louis in seven games. Cassidy took Boston to the NHL’s best record (44-14-12) the following season, when he won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year 2019-20.
Cassidy goes from coaching a team full of veterans in transition in Boston to coaching one of the most talented squads in the league.
“The Golden Knights are very happy that Bruce is coming to coach our team,” CEO Kelly McCrimmon said in a statement. “His success in Boston for six years is extremely impressive. His teams have had a clear identity, having been among the best in the NHL in terms of goals for, goals against, goal differential and special teams. the right coach for our team right now. “
DeBoer was 98-50-12 in three seasons with the Golden Knights and took them to consecutive semifinals appearances in his first two seasons, but was fired on May 16 after losing the playoffs for the first time in history. of the franchise this season. .
Cassidy inherits a team that was ranked as one of the best in the Western Conference before last season, but failed and collapsed during the stretch in part due to a series of injuries. According to NHLInjuryViz.com, the Golden Knights finished second in the men’s 505 loss.
However, with control of his destiny with five games for the season, Vegas lost three consecutive closures along the stretch to get out of the dispute. They lost five of their last seven and went 0-2-3 against the last five teams that didn’t play in the playoffs they faced.
___
More NHL AP: i