When the Boston Bruins made the sudden decision to fire Bruce Cassidy as head coach in May of 2022, you knew that it wasn't going to be long before he found another job. Well, it took just a couple of weeks for him to land on his feet behind an NHL bench.
Cassidy was hired by the Vegas Golden Knights, and the rest, they say, is history. While Boston enjoyed a tremendous 2022-23 and historic regular season that saw them set an NHL record for wins and points in an 82-game season, the Golden Knights made the playoffs.
While the Bruins were suffering a historic playoff collapse, blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Florida Panthers, the Golden Knights were rolling along in the Western Conference playoffs. In the end, Vegas ended up doing what the Bruins couldn't do: beat the Panthers in the playoffs to win the Stanley Cup.
Fast forward three years later, and right before the postseason began this season, Vegas fired Cassidy. Now unemployed, he is doing network studio work for TNT, but you know it's only a matter of time before he gets behind a bench.
Former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy linked to Los Angeles Kings opening
File this one under nobody saw this coming. According to David Pagnotta and Dennis Bernsteinof The Fourth Period, the Los Angeles Kings are pursuing Cassidy for the head job in Southern California.
Now, some jobs might open up sooner rather than later that might be more appealing to Cassidy, but one thing is for sure, with the Kings' rivals, the Anaheim Ducks, in the Western Conference semifinals, they need to nail this hire, and Cassidy might be the guy they need.
However, there is some baggage with Cassidy, including how tough he can be on players, and it rubs some of them the wrong way, but his success behind an NHL bench is undeniable. There are questions surrounding the head coaching jobs with the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs, which you would think would be more appealing than Los Angeles. Cassidy even mentioned last month what it would be like to bring a Stanley Cup to a Canadian city. Buckle up.
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