Bruce Cassidy paid an emotional toll in his return to Boston, and he might have paid a slight financial price, too.
Cassidy's Vegas Golden Knights stormed out to an early lead and held on for dear life, beating the Bruins in a shootout Monday night at TD Garden.
There's a tradition in the NHL that involves players putting "money on the board" for significant games that have extra meaning to them, like returning to a city to play a former team. The money then goes into a pot and pays for team parties and the like. Some nights, the number can get laughably high. The Athletic did a fascinating deep dive into the tradition back in 2019.
With Cassidy back in Boston, the place he coached for the better part of a decade, he apparently took it upon himself to up the ante -- literally. So, yes, the Golden Knights players were happy to get their new coach a win in his old barn, but there was some extra motivation.
"They were happy, they got a little money from me," Cassidy told reporters after the game. "The Cassidy college fund went down a little bit, but I'll gladly pay it. It would be my turn here to pay it or Jack (Eichel's), right? Jack didn't play, but he was kind of enough to still put a little money on the board."
For a team that plays in Las Vegas, money on the board should be a pretty solid motivator.
All in all, it was a nice little return to Boston for Cassidy, who was appreciative of the warm welcome back to the Hub even if it cost him a few Benjamins.
