UPDATE (6:25 p.m. ET): The Vegas Golden Knights announced Tuesday night that Bruce Cassidy has been hired as the franchise’s new head coach.
ORIGINAL STORY: Bruce Cassidy wasn’t unemployed for very long.
NHL insider Kevin Weekes reported Tuesday the Vegas Golden Knights are hiring Cassidy to be their new head coach. This comes about a week after the Boston Bruins moved on from the veteran bench boss.
The Bruins relieved Cassidy of his duties last Monday after 14 years with the organization, including parts of six seasons as Boston’s head coach. The B’s reached the playoffs in each season with Cassidy at the helm, including the Stanley Cup Final in 2019, but Boston general manager Don Sweeney ultimately determined a change was needed in wake of the club’s first-round playoff loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Cassidy will assume the role vacated by Peter DeBoer, who was fired by the Golden Knights last month after Vegas missed the postseason for the first time. DeBoer spent parts of three seasons as Vegas’ head coach after replacing Gerard Gallant, now head coach of the New York Rangers.
The Bruins are in the process of finding their next head coach. Cassidy took over in Boston during the 2016-17 NHL season after the B’s moved on from Claude Julien.
Cassidy posted a 245-108-46 record in 399 career regular-season games as Bruins head coach. He led Boston to a 36-37 record in the postseason, with the Bruins reaching at least the second round on four separate occasions. The B’s fell one win short of hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2019, losing to the St. Louis Blues in seven games.
Cassidy, who turned 57 last month, takes over a Golden Knights team that made the playoffs four straight years upon becoming an NHL franchise. Vegas finished fourth in the Pacific Division this season, totaling 94 points and missing the postseason in the Western Conference.
