By most any measurement, Bruce Cassidy loved a extremely profitable six-year run as head coach of the Boston Bruins. But as he embarks on his new job with the Vegas Golden Knights, Cassidy believes he nonetheless has one thing to show.
“I do. I got let go,” stated Cassidy in his introductory press convention because the coach of the Knights on Thursday. “This is not some sort of a revenge tour or anything like that. I just want to prove to myself more importantly that I’m capable of doing the job and winning, winning in the post-season. So yeah, there’s a little bit of that. It’s not going to consume me every day by any means. But I think when you come close to winning the Cup, it’s always in the back of your mind. You want to finish the job.”
It’s that starvation to win the Stanley Cup that drove Cassidy to leap proper again on the teaching merry-go-round with each toes. In his farewell press convention with Boston reporters final week, Cassidy was very sincere in speaking about how a lot dropping Game 7 of the Cup finals in 2019 to the St. Louis Blues nonetheless haunted him.
He’s becoming a member of a like-minded group. A Vegas reporter introduced up the truth that when the Knights joined the league, the plan was to win a Cup by Year Six.
“We’re in Year Six, so the pressure’s on,” joked Cassidy, who has been preceded by two coaches, Gerard Gallant and Pete DeBoer. “Which is great. The previous market was an Original Six, lots o pressure, so that to me is a good thing. You want to be relevant and you want expectations.”
The expectation for Cassidy might be to carry what labored for him with the Bruins and enhance nearly each facet of the Knights, a proficient group that underachieved in not making the playoffs within the spring. He desires to be stout on protection as a method to transition rapidly into offense. He additionally has a mandate to enhance the Knights’ sagging power-play, which completed twenty fifth within the league in 2021-22.
Cassidy additionally plans to carry accountability with him. And, sure, he might be demanding of his younger gamers who don’t have all their particulars down. His dealings with younger Bruins was purpose for his firing.
“The accountability will be there,” stated Cassidy. “The messaging will always be different, player to play, room to room. That to me is a feeling-out process. It will happen quick. I’m pretty good at assessing people. I’ve always believed you have to earn your way in the National Hockey League. With younger guys, I don’t like to let those habits and details slip, so they’ll hear more of the message. How you deliver that message, everyone has a different coaching style. I’ll get to know the players and figure out what’s best for them / But I do believe that if you don’t have accountability, you don’t have much in the end.”
Cassidy separate gamers into two completely different classes.
“Some guys have earned a lot of rope, other guys are in the process of earning that rope,” he stated.
And it feels like Cassidy places star centerman Jack Eichel within the latter bracket.
“He’s a guy that’s a high-end hockey player that’s still learning how to win and play the right way,” stated Cassidy.
Whether he will get essentially the most out of Eichel – who had all the time put up good offensive numbers with the Sabres earlier than being traded to Vegas final season, however has by no means made the playoffs in seven years – might decide simply how profitable Cassidy might be on The Strip.
Cassidy is reunited with Vegas’ president of hockey operations George McPhee, who employed Cassidy for his first head teaching gig in Washington twenty years in the past and fired him in his second season.
“I told George, ‘I’m going to get it right this time,’” stated Cassidy. “I’ve had a lot of experience since then and I don’t want to revisit all of that. But I’ve always respected George. He gave me my first head coaching job in the National Hockey League and I’ll never forget that. We’ve continued our relationship over the years when we’ve run into each other. I think it’s always been cordial, always respectful.”
The means Cassidy earned his means again to the NHL impressed GM Kelly McCrimmon.
“Bruce’s path was intriguing for us when we looked at him as a candidate. To go from being an NHL head coach, he went back to the Ontario Hockey League to coach junior hockey, first job back in pro was an assistant in the American Hockey League,” stated McCrimmon. “For me, that’s paying your dues, getting better every day and turning yourself into a real elite coach. A lot fop people would have bene able to persevere and find your way through that.”
The solely factor that will have slowed Cassidy in taking the Vegas job was whether or not it was going to be a match for his household. The Cassidys bought previous that rapidly.
“The last eight days, when you get let go, it’s disappointing. There are a lot of emotions that go into it. You kind of lick our wounds and then console your children,” stated Cassidy, who has two school-age youngsters, a boy and a lady. “And then the phone started ringing for me. I was very flattered that people valued how I did my job and in talking to Kelly during the process on a daily basis, I just felt like this was going to be a great fit for me…Then there’s a discussion with Julie, my wife. We’ve been an East Coast family for a long time. I’m from Canada, she’s from New Jersey. How would it affect the kids?. I knew hockey-wise it was no-brainer for me. It was about how is it going to affect your family. And everyone’s on board.”
The solely trick is to get his son Cole, a diehard Boston sports activities fan, to surrender being a Patriots fan now that they share a sports activities panorama with Josh McDaniels’ Raiders.
Said Cassidy: “I’ll tell him ‘You can have the Red Sox, but you’ve got to give up the Pats.’”
Source: www.bostonherald.com