Bruce Cassidy is the Vegas Golden Knights’ new head coach. This was announced by the club on Tuesday.
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The 57-year-old replaces Peter DeBoer, who was fired on May 16 after the Golden Knights (43-31-8) finished three points behind the Nashville Predators for second wildcard place in the Western Conference. It was the first time in the club’s history – since 2017-18 – that the Golden Knights missed the playoffs.
Cassidy was fired as coach of the Boston Bruins on June 6, this after leading the team to the playoffs during all of his six seasons at the club. The Bruins lost 4-3 in games against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs.
The Golden Knights were drawn with injuries during the season, including on Mark Stone and Max Paciorettyand Alec Martinez and Robin Lehner.
– Now we have a break of four and a half months, which will be an important period for our group, said Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon the day DeBoer was fired. We missed the playoffs, which we can learn from. At the same time, I think this long period of rest before next season will give us an opportunity to be rested, recovered from injuries and tagged for the future. And I felt that a new voice in the locker room could strengthen that forward movement. The decision to change coaches was made with the future in mind, not our performance last season.
– I think the players, just like me, think Bruce is an excellent coach, said Bruins general manager Don Sweeney the day Cassidy was fired. I think he will succeed very well with his next task. He is an excellent coach.
Golden Knights are the second team to hire a new coach since the regular season ended; Lane Lambert took over as coach of the New York Islanders after Barry Trotz on May 16. The Bruins, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets are currently looking for a new coach.
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