Don’t expect Bruce Cassidy to be out of a job long. Meeting with some reporters via Zoom on Thursday, Cassidy said he has already talked to “a number of teams,” less than 72 hours since the Bruins fired him on Monday.
John Buccigross reacts to the firing of Bruce Cassidy
“Yes. In respect to the teams, I’m not gonna go through them. But yes, I have talked to a number of teams,” Cassidy said. “…I want to get back to work. Hopefully it’s a really good fit, best fit possible. That’s not always the case, but that’s what I’m hoping for, for both sides. We’ll see where it gets to.”
Cassidy could just sit back and relax next season and still get paid by Boston for the final year of his contract, but he made it clear he wants to coach again as soon as possible.
“Absolutely. This is what I do,” he said. “Obviously I have a family. You have to make sure it’s the right opportunity for myself and my family, and that they’re the right fit and I’m the right for them. But yes, 100 percent.”
Cassidy said he hopes his next team will resemble his Bruins teams in terms of structure and how they play.
“I hope so,” he said. “I hope we’re hard to play against. I hope we’re structurally solid. I hope we create offense when the situation dictates and the players that have the ability to do that will do it. I hope we’re a team and we stick together all over the ice.”
While Cassidy didn’t name any of the teams he’s talked to already, it seems like a safe bet that one of them is the Flyers. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported on Thursday that Philadelphia is interested in Cassidy, among several other candidates.
Other coaching vacancies around the NHL include the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets. The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers both finished the season with interim coaches; it’s currently unclear if they’ll stick with Jay Woodcroft and Andrew Brunette, respectively.
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