One year after being fired by the Boston Bruins and subsequently hired by the Vegas Golden Knights, Bruce Cassidy has added a Stanley Cup championship to his resume. After six seasons behind the Bruins bench that included some very successful regular seasons and some gut-wrenching playoff exits, including a Game 7 loss in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, Cassidy’s Stanley Cup win has been a long time in the making. Today, we look back at his journey to becoming a Stanley Cup-winning head coach.
Cassidy’s Playing Career Derailed By Significant Knee Injuries
Cassidy was a highly touted defenceman selected in the first round, 18th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. He had built quite an impressive resume while playing in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Ottawa 67’s. From 1982-1985 he played three seasons with the 67’s, piling up 65 goals and 181 assists for 246 points in 165 games. During the 1983-84 season, Cassidy helped lead the 67’s to an OHL championship pitching in six goals and 16 assists for 22 points in 13 playoff games. The team went on to win the 1984 Memorial Cup, with the young defenceman adding another 12 points in five games.
Following his junior career, Cassidy made his NHL debut playing one game for the Blackhawks in the 1985-86 season. Unfortunately for the standout defenceman, knee injuries would hamper his playing career, limiting him to 36 NHL games. After undergoing three knee surgeries between 1984 and 1988, he played in the Italian Ice Hockey league during the early 1990s.
After playing three seasons in Italy, Cassidy spent the 1993-94 season in the German Hockey League before returning to the United States to play for the Blackhawks’ IHL minor league affiliate Indianapolis Ice. He wouldn’t suit up for another NHL game, and just ten games into the 1996-97 season, his playing career came to an end.
Cassidy Begins Coaching Career
After deciding to hang up the skates, Cassidy got his first head coaching gig with the Jacksonville Lizard Kings in the ECHL. He spent two seasons coaching the Lizard Kings before being named the head coach of his former team, the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL. When the Ice folded after the 1998-99 season, he returned to the ECHL to coach the expansion team, Trenton Titans. His time with the Titans was short-lived as he would take a coaching job for the Detroit Red Wings American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, Grand Rapids Griffins. The team won division titles in both of his seasons as the Griffins’ head coach. However, they could not replicate their regular season success in the playoffs.
After seeing Cassidy’s success in the AHL, the Washington Capitals named him their head coach ahead of the 2002-03 season. His first stint as a head coach in the NHL didn’t last long. Following the first season in which he coached the Capitals to a 32-29-8-6 record before their first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the club got off to a rough start during the 2003-04 season leading to Cassidy being fired with an 8-16-1 record to begin the season.
Cassidy then joined the franchise that had drafted him as a player, serving as an assistant coach for the Blackhawks during the 2005-06 season. Unfortunately, they had a rough season with a 26-43-13 record and found himself out of a job once again at the end of the season.
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After gaining some coaching experience at the NHL level at such a young age (from a coaching perspective), Cassidy found himself returning to his roots by taking a head coaching job with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. Once again, his post with the team was short-lived, as he was relieved of his coaching duties early in his second season.
Joining Bruins Organization Gives Cassidy His Coaching Breakthrough
Cassidy got his big break when he joined the Boston Bruins organization by taking a role as the assistant coach of the Providence Bruins. During the 2011-12 season, after three seasons as an assistant coach, he earned himself a promotion and was named the head coach of the P-Bruins. Following the promotion, he helped guide the club to five straight playoff appearances. More impressive is that the Bruins’ drafting had left him with a relatively poor prospect pool to work with, and he was still able to find success.
After eight seasons in Providence, Cassidy was named as an assistant coach on Claude Julien’s coaching staff for the 2016-17 NHL season. He would take over, first named interim head coach, after Julien was fired on Feb. 7, 2017. He coached the Bruins to an 18-8-1 record to finish the season, earning himself the permanent role as the Bruins’ coach.
After nearly 15 years since his first NHL coaching opportunity, Cassidy helped lead the Bruins to an impressive 50-20-12 record, clinching the second spot in Atlantic Division. The Bruins advanced to the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs by eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games. Unfortunately for Cassidy and the Bruins, they couldn’t get past the Lightning, who were in the early stages of developing into a juggernaut. “We scored against Toronto, so it’s not like after 89 games we forgot how to score or not play the right way, I think their D corps is big and they move the puck. They did a good job of not allowing us to get inside.” Cassidy said about the Lightning following the Bruins’ Game 5 elimination.
Cassidy Guides Bruins to Stanley Cup Final
In the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Cassidy coached the Bruins through a magical playoff run, making it to the Stanley Cup Final, where they met the St Louis Blues. Boston took an early lead three games into the series but dropped Games 4 and 5, giving the Blues a 3-2 series lead. With a commanding 5-1 win in Game 6, the Bruins forced a decisive Game 7 back at TD Garden. “I thought what we did well … was we created some turnovers,” Cassidy said. “… That’s our style of hockey. If we can get in your face and can play that way — we’re both physical and quick — we’re a good hockey team.” The Bruins fell short in Game 7, dropping the contest 4-1 and enduring yet another gut-wrenching playoff exit after being so close to winning the ultimate prize.
Cassidy and the Bruins Suffer Multiple Early Playoff Exits
The Bruins returned from their loss in the Stanley Cup Final with what was Cassidy’s finest regular season during his tenure with the club. They posted a 44-14-12 record through 70 games before the season was stopped due to the COVID-19 outbreak. They were awarded the Presidents’ Trophy as they led the NHL standings with 100 points at the time of the stoppage, and Cassidy was named the recipient of the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best coach. The stoppage, however, killed all the momentum the Bruins were building to that point in the season. As the NHL began the unconventional 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs (in the bubble), they were once again defeated in the second round by the Lightning.
When the NHL resumed play for the shortened 56-game season in 2020-21, the Bruins posted a 33-16-7 record finishing third in the East Division (re-aligned divisions for that season). Once again, Cassidy helped guide the Bruins to the second round, only to fall to the New York Islanders in six games.
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In 2021-22, during his last season serving as the Bruins’ head coach, his club posted a 51-26-5 record, good enough to clinch a wild-card position in the Eastern Conference. In what had become familiar over his final few years in Boston, the Bruins suffered another early playoff exit as the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated them in a seven-game opening-round series.
Bruins Make Shocking Decision to Fire Cassidy
On June 7, 2022, weeks after the Bruins’ first-round exit from the playoffs, Don Sweeney announced that the Bruins were firing Cassidy. The move came as a shock and was met with mixed results from the fanbase. “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.” Sweeney said when addressing the media regarding the decision.
Cassidy left no doubts about his coaching abilities throughout his time in Boston. Over the course of his six seasons behind the bench, he compiled a record of 245-108-46, for an impressive winning percentage of .672. While leading the club to the playoffs in every season, he coached 73 playoff games with a 36-37 record and added a Jack Adams Award to his resume. The one thing that eluded him was winning a Stanley Cup, and regardless of whether or not that was his fault, he took the downfall for it and became Sweeney’s scapegoat.
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After taking a couple of days to digest the news of his firing, Cassidy bid farewell to Boston. “The Bruin is basically tattooed to me,” he said in the farewell address to the city. He went on to add, “At the end of the day, I understand the business part of it. I really do. Coaches come and go. I got an opportunity because a very good coach (Claude Julien) who won a Stanley Cup here got let go. I get it. And at the day, did I still want to be here? Absolutely. Do I want to coach in this league? Yes, as soon as possible, because it’s what I do. I coach and I love to do it. I have a lot of respect for Donnie and how we’ve built our relationship over the years. He’s got a job to do. He made a decision. That falls under his purview to decide who the next coach is. He made a decision. So now I’m on to the next challenge” (from ‘Bruce Cassidy Gives his Farewell Address’, Boston Herald, June 9, 2022).
Cassidy Hired as Head Coach of the Vegas Golden Knights
The next challenge that Cassidy alluded to didn’t take long to come his way, as the Golden Knights hired him just one week later on June 14, 2022. “I am excited to join an organization that shares my commitment to winning and can’t wait to get to work with the talent that has been assembled in Vegas,” Cassidy said in a statement. “It’s been impressive to watch the city embrace the Golden Knights from afar, and my family and I look forward to becoming a part of that.”
Of course, the Bruins went on to hire Jim Montgomery as their new coach and right from the early stages of the regular season an interesting narrative was created with both teams coming out of the gate firing, leading their respective conferences for much of the regular season. Although the Bruins played remarkable hockey this past season, you know that many Bruins fans were also paying attention to what their former coach was doing in Vegas. He continued to do what he’s done since getting his second chance as a head coach in the NHL, win hockey games. The Golden Knights finished the season with a 51-22-9 record, good for the top spot in the Western Conference. Back in Boston, Montgomery helped lead the Bruins to a 65-12-5 record, and an NHL-record, 135-point season.
It appeared as though Cassidy and the Golden Knights were on a collision course to potentially meet the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final. However, that possibility ended when the Bruins once again got eliminated in the first round. Cassidy admitted he was a bit relieved after the Bruins lost in the playoffs, “I was a little relieved after [the Bruins] lost in the playoffs for my kids not having to hear about ‘Oh, if your dad had done a better job…’ You know what I mean? Kids say things…I think of my kids every day, because if they’re happy I’m happy, and if they’re sad I’m sad,” he said. “I was so relieved from that point, for them” (from ‘Bruce Cassidy reflects on his firing from Bruins, their first-round exit, and his pursuit of the Stanley Cup’, Boston Globe, June 7, 2023).
Cassidy Finally Gets His Name on the “Damn Cup”
“I just want my name on the damn cup.” That’s what Cassidy told reporters ahead of Game 7 during the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. Well, Bruce, it may have taken much longer than that Game 7 in 2019, but your name is finally going on that damn cup. With the Golden Knights trouncing the Panthers 9-3 on Tuesday night, he has finally realized a lifelong dream. In what’s been a whirlwind year, he gets the last laugh after hoisting hockey’s holy grail. Sportsnet NHL analyst Kyle Bukauskas asked him on the ice postgame, “You had the Bruin logo tattooed on you effectively Bruce, how do you describe what this last year has been like?” Cassidy didn’t skip a beat when he replied, “Well, I got another one tattooed on me now don’t I?”
For Cassidy, who was drafted 40 years ago, it’s been a long time in the making. From all his battles during his playing days, the promising career derailed by knee injuries, all the time spent in the minors both as a player and a coach, the lengthy gap between his first NHL head coaching job in Washington and returning behind the bench with the Bruins, all of that adversity and the countless hours put in are now worth it. Congratulations on the well-deserved Stanley Cup win, Butch!
