A year ago, Bruce Cassidy was out of a job. Now, he's a Stanley Cup champion.
Cassidy and the Golden Knights were crowned the 2023 NHL champions, defeating the Panthers in five games to win the franchise its first Stanley Cup.
When Cassidy was fired by the Bruins last offseason, people around the league knew he would not be unemployed for very long. They were right, as eight days after Boston announced it was firing Cassidy, Vegas hired him as the third full-time head coach in franchise history.
The Golden Knights had fired Peter DeBoer after three seasons, as the club was coming off of an extremely disappointing 2021-22 campaign that resulted in missing the playoffs, despite entering the season as one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
Cassidy's impact was immediate. Vegas finished first in the Pacific Division and had the best record in the Western Conference. After playoff wins over the Kings, Oilers and Stars, the Golden Knights beat the Panthers in the 2023 final.
MORE: Golden Knights vs. Panthers Stanley Cup Final preview for 2023 NHL playoffs
The Sporting News explains more about why Cassidy was fired by the Bruins.
Why did the Bruins fire, Bruce Cassidy?
When Cassidy was fired by the Bruins last offseason, there was quite a bit of head-scratching around the league.
The Bruins made the postseason all six seasons underneath Cassidy. He helped lead the team to four seasons with at least 100 points, and the other two were the 2016-17 season when he took over for Claude Julien and then the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign. It was under Cassidy that the Bruins made it to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final where the team lost in seven games to the Blues.
However, in 73 playoff games with Cassidy, the Bruins went 36-37. They failed to win two playoff rounds in five of those six seasons. When a storied franchise isn't finding success in the playoffs, changes have to come, and Cassidy was the one to go.
The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa reported that President Cam Neely and GM Don Sweeney were dissatisfied with Cassidy's coaching approach, and that it had a negative impact on certain players, especially the younger ones. It was something Neely drilled home during Boston's end-of-season press conference.
"There is some of that. There’s no question, players being afraid to make mistakes," Neely said last summer. "Especially younger players. Because you hear about it. I was one of those players. I had to learn and grow. I heard about it too when I made mistakes as a younger player. You can’t worry about not getting back out there. I think that’s one of the things we have to change. When younger players make mistakes, they’re worried they’re not going to play the next game. Well, that game is still going on."
One of those young players was Jake DeBrusk. The winger reportedly requested a trade from the team during Cassidy's final season but rescinded the request once Cassidy was let go.
Additionally, it was speculated that David Krejci's departure after the 2020-21 season to go back home and play in the Czech Republic was due to Cassidy. While Krejci denied it, he did previously state frustrations with Cassidy and how he wouldn't put him and David Pastrnak on the same line.
It's easy to point the finger now and say firing Cassidy was the wrong decision considering where the Bruins finished in the playoffs and where the Golden Knights are under Cassidy. But the hiring of Jim Montgomery undeniably played a major role in the team breaking records in the regular season, and the Golden Knights immensely benefitted from Cassidy needing a new employer.
Bruce Cassidy coaching record
The Golden Knights are the third NHL team that Cassidy has been a head coach for.
He got his first crack back in the early 2000s with Washington, but lasted less than two seasons, as he was fired 28 games into the 2003-04 season.
After, he was an assistant coach with the Blackhawks for a season and the head coach for the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs for parts of two seasons. He joined the AHL's Providence Bruins in 2008 as an assistant until he was promoted in 2011 to head coach. He was the head of Providence's bench until he was promoted to the NHL level in 2016, replacing Claude Julien.
| Season | Team | Games | Record | Result |
| 2002-03 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 39-29-8-6 | Lost in Conference Quarterfinals |
| 2003-04 | Washington Capitals | 28 | 8-18-1-1 | Fired |
| 2016-17 | Boston Bruins | 27 | 18-8-1 | Lost in First Round |
| 2018-17 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 50-20-12 | Lost in Second Round |
| 2018-19 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 49-24-9 | Lost in Stanley Cup Final |
| 2019-20 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 44-14-12 | Lost in Second Round |
| 2020-21 | Boston Bruins | 56 | 33-16-7 | Lost in Second Round |
| 2021-22 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 51-26-5 | Lost in First Round |
| 2022-23 | Vegas Golden Knights | 82 | 51-22-9 | Won Stanley Cup |
