The last two head coaching jobs that Bruce Cassidy has had have been successful. He brought the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019, and they fell one game short against the St. Louis Blues. He was fired in May of 2022, which was a rather stunning move.
He was unemployed until the Vegas Golden Knights hired him. In his first season, while his former team was setting the NHL record for wins and points in a season, all Cassidy did was lead Vegas to the Stanley Cup championship over the Florida Panthers. That's right, the same Florida Panthers who rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to knock out the Black and Gold in overtime in Game 7.
Anyway, back to Cassidy. After a 5-4 loss to the Washington Capitals last Saturday night, the Golden Knights fired Cassidy with eight games remaining in the season. He was seen as a fiery coach who may have worn thin on his players at both stops. Boston replaced him with a player-friendly coach in Jim Montgomery. Vegas replaced him on an interim basis with John Tortorella. Replacing one fiery coach with another is certainly a message to the locker room.
Following a loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from playoff contention in the Eastern Conference. They fired their GM earlier this week, and signs are pointing to head coach Craig Berube getting the same fate sooner or later. If that happens, could Toronto make a run at Cassidy?
Maple Leafs hiring Bruce Cassidy would break the internet
Right now, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is having the last laugh over Toronto. Last season's fleecing of former GM Brad Treliving at the trade deadline is going to go down in history for a long time. In case you don't remember, Sweeney sent defenseman Brandon Carlo to the Leafs for their 2026 first-round pick, top 5 protected, prospect Fraser Minten, and a fourth-round pick in 2025. That's not aging well.
However, if Toronto wants to get some revenge and add more spice to the rivalry, then they could simply hire Cassidy. Adam Gretz of Bleacher Report listed the Maple Leafs as one of four potential Bruce Cassidy destinations this summer.
"After this mess of a year, you can be certain that major changes will be coming for the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason, especially with a new general manager coming in. The question is whether Toronto will go with another established big name with a Stanley Cup on their resume or a younger, up-and-coming coach. The potential concern with Cassidy is that he is very similar to Berube in that he is an intense, no-nonsense coach with a reputation for being harsh with players. He has won a Cup, but so did Berube,'' wrote Gretz.
Ok, as someone who is an outsider, something tells me that Cassidy's fiery personality would not sit well in Toronto. Like Boston had when he was fired, there seems to be an issue with a coach with that personality with the Leafs. If he wore thin in Boston and Vegas' locker room, how long would it take to do the same in Toronto? Probably not wrong.
However, Cassidy's record and success speak for themselves, and if the Maple Leafs are looking to break their championship drought, there might not be a better candidate out there this offseason to do that than Cassidy. If that happened, could you imagine three or four regular-season games between the Bruins and Leafs, never mind a seven-game playoff series?