After the Bruins fired Bruce Cassidy on Monday night, ESPN’s John Buccigross fired off some cryptic tweets that seemed to suggest that some players, including Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, may have been glad to see Cassidy go.
General manager Don Sweeney said on Tuesday that while he listens to player feedback, players didn’t “drive the bus” on his decision to make a coaching change. He did say, however, that he believed a new “voice” was needed in the room.
In an interview in French with Le Journal de Quebec, Bergeron firmly denied that he had any say in the decision.
On Tuesday, Buccigross joined Merloni, Fauria & Mego to discuss Cassidy’s firing in a less cryptic way. He explained what he’s heard about Cassidy’s relationship with players.
“Bruce Cassidy as a coach, he’s respected, great X’s and O’s guy, knows how to game plan, how to beat the other team,” Buccigross said. “It’s elite, obviously, the amount of games he won as the Bruins’ head coach. … But his communication skills and people managing, for some, have been difficult to deal with. Kind of a running commentary on the bench, which players sometimes hear and maybe they think, ‘Jeez, I wonder what he’s saying about me.’ It’s not uncommon.
“…It’s a delicate thing. The motivational tactics he uses, certainly really harsh, on young players especially. And that’s the part which, probably as the Bruins are looking to go forward with perhaps a younger core -- I don’t want to call it a rebuild -- but his voice I think was growing tired. I think players probably in the exit meetings, from what I was told, kind of voiced their opinion about him.
“I don’t think it’s a new thing. Certainly when a window comes and their success isn’t real deep in the playoffs, it gives the GM rope perhaps to make a move. It could’ve been mutually exclusive of, hey, this is just time. There is probably a life expectancy for a coach at some point in the room, especially if Marchand’s still gonna be around and Pastrnak’s still gonna be around, if Bergeron comes back. I think it really was, he’s kind of a comet in terms of he’s in to win and then after a while kind of wears out his welcome.”
Buccigross said the way Cassidy handled young players, in particular, may not have been a fit going forward if the Bruins need to go younger. Team president Cam Neely had also said after the season that he wanted to see a change in how young players were handled.
“I think it’s more the younger players,” Buccigross said. “Obviously he’s not gonna say the same things to Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand as he is for younger players. He’s just not gonna go there. But yeah, just kind of playing some mind games with them to talk about their role, ‘Maybe it’s not gonna work out here,’ and some kid who’s on his first deal or looking for his next deal, it’s like, ‘What does this mean? Do I go talk to my agent? Do I talk to anybody about this?’
“…He’s firm, he’s hard. He got results, but over time, after a couple years of not getting deep results, and if you’re looking to get younger and looking at this window with these certain guys closing a bit, then maybe this is the time to shift. Because we need these young players to start performing. Otherwise, I’m not gonna be here as the GM and as the president and whomever.”
Listen to the full interview with Buccigross here:
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