Bruce Cassidy wouldn’t reject the Stanley Cup, but he’d rather win it outright.
The Boston Bruins head coach last week addressed the idea of the NHL potentially awarding his team the Stanley Cup if the 2019-20 season can’t resume and the NHL playoffs don’t take place.
Despite the NHL’s apparent determination to continue the season and stage the playoffs in some form, many have speculated the league ultimately might have to close the door on the campaign and give the Bruins — who had amassed an NHL-leading 100 points in the standings — the Stanley Cup by default.
After jokingly exclaiming he’d accept the offer, here’s what Cassidy said last week during a town hall video conference with season-ticket holders, as transcribed by The Boston Globe:
“Um … well, the integrity of the game says there should be playoffs, and there’s nothing better than NHL playoffs. I do believe that’s what everyone wants. I’m no different. You want to earn it. You want the blood, sweat, and tears that go along with it. At the end of the day, if you can’t have that, and they decide to award the Cup to Boston, I mean …
“I don’t know, I haven’t thought it through long enough, but I can’t imagine we’d turn it down, correct? So, let’s hope there’s a playoff, and you can feel good about earning it, like every other team has, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
The prospect of the Bruins winning the Cup without skating another minute this season seems strange, but it’s an idea that hasn’t been ruled out entirely. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask joked about a possible default championship last month, and Boston forward Brad Marchand shared his thoughts last week during a town hall. So, it’s something that exists in the backs of minds in Boston and perhaps elsewhere in the NHL community.
Nevertheless, Cassidy is operating under the assumption the NHL season will restart, and he’s brainstorming scenarios about the length and intensity of the training camp the Bruins would hold in order to recover their winning form as quickly as possible.
