Two years ago, Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney made the stunning decision in June to fire head coach Bruce Cassidy weeks after it looked like he was coming back. It didn’t take Cassidy long to find another job quickly being hired by the Vegas Golden Knights.
In the end, Cassidy ended up winning in the deal as one year after being fired in Boston, he led Vegas to the 2022-23 Stanley Cup championship over the Florida Panthers. Now, just very two short years after being fired by Sweeney, Cassidy was hired to be an assistant coach for Team Canada where Sweeney just happens to be the GM.
Bruce Cassidy hired as assistant coach for a team Canada at Four Nations Face-Off
In February, the Four Nations Face-Off will take place between Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the United States. Earlier this year, Sweeney was named GM of Team Canada and named Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper head coach of the team. Cooper recently named his assistant coaches and Cassidy was one of them along with Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green, Peter DeBoer head coach of the Dallas Stars, and Misha Donskov.
What makes this hiring of Cassidy interesting is that Sweeney was part of a panel that helped pick Cooper’s assistants and had a big say in the hiring. Both Sweeney and Cassidy are professionals and will likely leave their past in the rearview mirror for the tournament.
The 4 Nations Face-Off will be held from Feb. 12-20 and there will be games played in Montreal and Boston, with Cassidy returning to the TD Garden as a member of Team Canada.
Cassidy has established himself as an NHL head coach and being named to Cooper’s staff is an honor as there will be no shortage of NHL talent on all the rosters.