An experienced NHL coach who used to coach in the Detroit Red Wings’ system has emerged as a possible coaching candidate: Bruce Cassidy, who was fired by the Boston Bruins Monday.
Cassidy coached the Grand Rapids Griffins from 2000-2002, just squeezing in a few months after an affiliation with the Wings was announced in January 2002. Cassidy, 57, was hired by the Washington Capitals in 2002, beginning his NHL coaching career.
The Wings have been without a coach since April 30, when general manager Steve Yzerman announced Jeff Blashill would not be retained. Other NHL coaches let go since the season ended include Mike Yeo by the Philadelphia Flyers (May 3), Barry Trotz by the New York Islanders (May 9) and Peter DeBoer by the Vegas Golden Knights (May 16). The Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks also are engaged in coaching searches, though they have internal candidates who are considered front-runners.
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Cassidy was 245-108-46 and 36-37 in the playoffs. He coached the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019, when they lost to the St. Louis Blues in seven games. The Bruins qualified for the playoffs in each of Cassidy’s six seasons.
“After 14 years working with Bruce, this was an extremely difficult decision,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said in a statement. “I want to thank and acknowledge Bruce for all his work and success with the Bruins organization. His head coaching record for the Bruins is impressive, and we are appreciative of Bruce both professionally and personally. After taking some time to fully digest everything, I felt that the direction of our team for both this season and beyond would benefit from a new voice.”
Yzerman said May 2 the Wings had regressed under Blashill and that “I’ve got to see if bringing in a new coach and coaching staff, can make a difference to get us back and get us going in the right direction.”
Cassidy has extensive experience: He took the Capitals to the playoffs in 2003, but after a slow start the following season, he was fired after 25 games. (He was replaced by former Wings goaltender Glen Hanlon, who coached the team to the third-worst record in the NHL. The Capitals won the draft lottery, and chose Alex Ovechkin with their first overall pick in the 2004 draft). Cassidy resurfaced with the Blackhawks as an assistant, but after the team missed the 2006 playoffs, his contract was not renewed.
He then spent time coaching in the Ontario Hockey League before landing with the Providence Bruins (AHL) in 2008. He joined the Boston Bruins as an assistant in 2016, was named interim head coach in February 2017 after Claude Julien was fired and named head coach two months later.
Yzerman has kept quiet about his coaching search. He has numerous options who have won the Stanley Cup: Trotz (2018, Capitals), Joel Quenneville (2010, 2013 and 2015, Blackhawks), John Tortorella (2004, Tampa Bay Lightning), and Julien (2011, Bruins). Those would all be higher-priced options, starting in the $4 million annually range and likely all would want a contract of about four years. The Wings aren’t at a point where they are poised to compete for the Cup, and Yzerman may well be more comfortable bringing someone in on a three-year deal.
He could also be leaning toward doing what he did while he was GM of the Lightning, when he promoted from the minors Guy Boucher and Jon Cooper.
There are candidates who fit that path: Derek Lalonde, an assistant coach Yzerman’s last year with the Lightning; Mike Vellucci, a Farmington native who also has coached in the AHL and as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins; Marco Sturm (Los Angeles Kings) and Spencer Carberry (Maple Leafs).
Another possible candidate is Cam Abbott, who has been coaching in Sweden. He was Moritz Seider’s coach in 2020-21.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.