Former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy named as Knights head coach

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Golden Knights have hired former Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy as head coach, according to a release from the team.

Cassidy was fired less than a week ago after coaching the Bruins for the past five-plus seasons, building a 245-108-46 record.

VGK General Manager Kelly McCrimmon made the announcement Tuesday afternoon.

“The Golden Knights are very pleased to have Bruce come in to coach our team,” McCrimmon said. “His success in Boston over six years is extremely impressive. His teams have had a clear identity, having been among the very best in the NHL in terms of goals for, goals against, goal differential and special teams. This is the right coach for our team at this time.”

“I am excited to join an organization that shares my commitment to winning and can’t wait to get to work with the talent that has been assembled in Vegas,” Cassidy said in a statement released by the Knights.

“It’s been impressive to watch the city embrace the Golden Knights from afar, and my family and I look forward to becoming a part of that,” Cassidy said.

He was promoted from assistant to head coach during the 2016-17 season in Boston.

Cassidy takes over for the Knights after Peter DeBoer was fired following a Knights season marred by injuries. The Knights made a late run for a playoff berth, but they had dug too deep of a hole by the time they started to win games, and they lost to several teams that were already out of the playoffs.

Cassidy, who won the Jack Adams Award in 2020 as the NHL’s top coach, will be the third head coach in Knights history. The Knights first head coach, John Gallant, nearly took the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

A report over the weekend in Dallas indicates the Stars might be looking at DeBoer as their next coach.

VGK President George McPhee fired Cassidy when the two were together in 2003 with the Washington Capitals. McPhee was the general manager for the Capitals at the time, and made the change citing the team’s poor record and performance.

The Knights are still putting together plans for a news conference in Las Vegas to introduce Cassidy.