For the second time in his coaching profession, Bruce Cassidy finds himself let go as a head coach within the National Hockey League. The primary time got here in the summertime of 2022, when the Boston Bruins let Cassidy go. He was soon picked up by the Vegas Golden Knights, who also let their head coach, Peter DeBoer, go that very same summer.
NHL News: Vegas Golden Knights Fire Bruce Cassidy and Hire John Tortorella
Cassidy got here into Vegas with an edge as he fell one game in need of the Stanley Cup in 2019 with the Bruins. The talent was assembled; they simply needed a coach to push them to their limits 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 that’s poor roster construction, poor goaltending, or something else, the Vegas Golden Knights weren’t living as much as expectations, so GM Kelly McCrimmon felt a change was needed. However it raises the query: did Cassidy lose the room, or was something else brewing?
As Hockey Insider Elliotte Friedman noted on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, in addition to the NHL Network and Sportsnet, Bruce Cassidy is a tough coach to play for, and he demands loads from his players. There was tension between the group dating back to when he got there.
Bruce Cassidy is an amazing coach, but he’s demanding. And I feel considered one of the things now has had two jobs, and it seems type of like considered one of those guys, three, 4 years, after which he really starts to grind on players.
And last yr, the Edmonton series where the Oilers beat them (Vegas), I heard right before that series ended, before Game 5, there was a very tense meeting between Cassidy and a few of those players, and I feel at the top of last yr, it type of frayed their relationship. A few of the players did like what Cassidy needed to say. I do know some players said some things to management. Management backed Cassidy, but it surely appears to be pretty obvious this yr, and clearly, Vegas management realized it too, that his message just wasn’t getting through anymore. The connection between the players wasn’t as strong because it was once, and sometimes it’s just time.
Like all player-coach relationship, things sour. McCrimmon said on the Monday media meeting that Cassidy didn’t lose the room. It was more of the team losing energy and spirit. The players echoed that sentiment, though captain Mark Stone felt the locker room was stale.
NHL Rumors: Vegas Golden Knights Taking a look at Centers
Nonetheless, it is just not like John Tortorella isn’t a demanding coach. Sometimes you only need a brand new voice bringing the identical message. The way in which Tortorella coaches, he can get guys to play with the energy needed to win.
But that is the second time players haven’t been glad with Cassidy and his coaching style. But you understand Bruce Cassidy will land on his feet somewhere, given his pedigree.
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