After leaving him dangling for a few weeks, the Bruins determined to fireplace their extremely profitable head coach Bruce Cassidy on Monday night.
The resolution was that of GM Don Sweeney, whose personal contract extension has not been publicly introduced as of but, although he definitely appears to be right here for the foreseeable future.
“Today I informed Bruce Cassidy that I was making a head coaching change,” stated Sweeney. “After 14 years working with Bruce, this was an extremely difficult decision. I want to thank and acknowledge Bruce for all his work and success with the Bruins organization. His head coaching record for the Bruins is impressive, and we are appreciative of Bruce both professionally and personally. After taking some time to fully digest everything, I felt that the direction of our team for both this season and beyond would benefit from a new voice. I want to wish Bruce, Julie, Shannon and Cole much success as a family and with their future opportunities.”
Sweeney will maintain an 8 a.m. press convention on Tuesday.
Both Sweeney and staff president Cam Neely stated of their end-of-season press conferences that they believed the staff wanted to vary their model of play to create extra offense.
“I want to thank Bruce for his time and service to the Boston Bruins organization over the last 14 years,” stated Bruins President Cam Neely. “Bruce has been a fantastic coach and has helped this team win many games and achieve success over his tenure behind the bench. I also want to extend my gratitude to Bruce and his family for everything they’ve done over the years to support the New England community and Bruins organization. We wish them continued success in the future.”
While no new deal for Sweeney was introduced, Neely added that will probably be Sweeney who will rent the following coach.
“I have the utmost confidence in Don to conduct a thorough search to identify the best candidate that is going to help our team reach its full potential,” Neely added.
There is a protracted checklist of teaching candidates, together with Barry Trotz, Pete DeBoer, John Tortorella in addition to former Providence Bruins head coach Jay Leach, who’s now an assistant coach with the Seattle Kraken.
The subsequent coach should meet a excessive bar. Cassidy leaves the Bruins with a .672 factors share after taking on from Claude Julien in February of the 2016-17 season when the B’s seemed to be headed for a 3rd straight DNQ. His factors share was one of the best for a B’s coach since Bep Guidolin’s transient tenure close to the tip of the Bobby Orr-Phil Esposito period from 1973-74 when he posted a .736 mark.
Cassidy introduced with him a bluster-free model that was nonetheless straight-shooting. If he was requested a few participant’s efficiency, he would give his matter-of-fact opinion, whether or not constructive or unfavorable.
After he took over from Julien, the B’s obtained the normal new-coach bump – after which some. They made the post-season that yr and yearly beneath Cassidy. In his second full season in 2018-19, the B’s made all of it the best way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals wherein they suffered a gut-wrenching defeat on Garden ice.
The subsequent season, it appeared as if the B’s had been prepared for one more try and scale the mountain. They amassed a 44-14-12 document by way of 70 video games when the world as we knew it stopped in March 2020. The worldwide COVID pandemic shut down sports activities leagues across the the globe and, although the B’s would win the Presidents’ Trophy as one of the best staff within the common season, they may not regain their momentum when the playoffs commenced within the fan-less bubble ambiance in Toronto.
They misplaced within the second spherical to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning, after which misplaced once more within the second spherical in 2020-21, this time to the Islanders.
Along the best way, Cassidy handled the peeling away of the staff’s core. Then captain Zdeno Chara was not re-signed after the bubble playoffs, nor was Torey Krug. After the playoff loss to the Islanders, David Krejci determined to return house to Czechia to play in entrance of his household and associates. Tuukka Rask was compelled to retire within the midst of a brief comeback try final winter following hip surgical procedure
Sweeney went on a spending spree final summer time to attempt to fill among the holes. He signed forwards Erik Haula, Nick Foligno and Tomas Nosek in addition to defenseman Derek Forbort and goalie Linus Ullmark.
It took some time for issues to return collectively. It wasn’t till Cassidy broke up the Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak line, transferring Pastrnak onto a line with Taylor Hall and Haula, for a New Year’s Day matinee did the B’s season take off. From that time on, the B’s had been top-of-the-line groups within the league.
But they may not recover from the hump of their sequence in opposition to the Carolina Hurricanes. Cassidy pushed sufficient buttons – together with reuniting Pastrnak with Bergeron and Marchand, then breaking them up once more – to get them to a Game 7, however they may not do what the New York Rangers did after them, which was win at PNC Arena.
Cassidy confronted his share of headwinds in the course of the season. Jake DeBrusk’s commerce request, initially made final summer time, turned public final November. There was additionally an uncommon strategy to the goaltending with Rask’s comeback try. But in the long run, DeBrusk, who had at occasions chafed beneath Cassidy’s calls for, loved his greatest season since since his second yr within the league.
One of Neely’s criticisms was that gamers had been too afraid to make errors. Now these errors can be one other coach’s drawback with which to deal.
Source: www.bostonherald.com