Bruce Cassidy is going to be manning the Bruins bench past the 2020-21 season.
The head coach signed a multi-year deal with Boston on Wednesday. Cassidy was named the interim head coach in February, 2018, after the team parted ways with Claude Julien. He then was named head coach that April and since has had great success with the B’s, including leading the team to a Stanley Cup Final.
“It’s a privilege and an honor. Happy to be sticking around for a while. … It’s where I wanted to be.” Cassidy told BostonBruins.com’s Eric Russo.
General manager Don Sweeney had high praise for the head coach during Wednesday’s press conference.
“He’s earned the right to lead this club,” he said via a team-provided transcript. “He’s got a good pulse of the room to allow veterans to do what they do, but also govern what he needs to. Sets up the ideals of the hockey club each and every night, knows what the expectations are … and holds them to a standard each day. Then the next day that turns right into a teaching opportunity and moving forward to the next day.”
Team president Cam Neely echoed those statements.
“Obviously the record speaks for itself,” Neely said. “I think he’s very open with communication. He’s got an open-door policy … it’s the up-tempo, (the) focus on trying to score goals. I think everybody enjoys that style of play, but also understand that you’ve got to play well defensively. You’ve got to play well in your own end. You have to check. Those are the things that I noticed right away. The guys really gravitated and adapted to it and enjoyed that.”
Bruins training camp opens Thursday at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton, Mass.
