Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy had to work for it, but he earned his 200th victory with the franchise in Tuesday’s 3-2 comeback defeat of the Ottawa Senators.
He opened up about the milestone in speaking to Bruins reporter Eric Russo on Wednesday.
“It’s an honor,” Cassidy said, via a team-provided video. “It means I’ve been around a lot of good players obviously, when you’re able to do that and have consistency year in and year out. A big thank you to the leadership group which is now (Patrice Bergeron), (Brad Marchand) and a number of other guys that have helped me along the way … Now the focus is on getting to 201.”
Cassidy, who served as head coach of the Washington Capitals from 2002-2004, joined the Bruins in 2016. Throughout five complete seasons with the team, he never guided the Bruins to lower than a .652 winning percentage in the regular season. He was recognized with the league’s Coach of the Year award after the 2019-20 season.
He is the sixth Bruins’ coach to collect 200 wins with the club, joining Gerry Cheevers (204), Don Cherry (231), Milt Schmidt (245), Art Ross (387) and Claude Julien (419).
The 56-year-old will have the opportunity to go for No. 201 when the Bruins host the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
