Cassidy hired as Golden Knights coach, replaces DeBoer

Bruce Cassidy was hired as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

The 57-year-old replaces Peter DeBoer, who was fired May 16 after the Golden Knights (43-31-8) finished three points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. It was the first time they failed to qualify for the postseason since joining the NHL as an expansion team in 2017-18.
Cassidy was fired as coach of the Boston Bruins on June 6 after guiding them to the playoffs in each of his six seasons. The Bruins lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games in the Eastern Conference First Round this season.
"This is not some sort of a revenge tour," Cassidy said Thursday. "I just want to prove to myself, more importantly, that I'm capable of doing the job and winning, winning in the postseason. So there's a little bit of that. it's not going to consume me every day, by any means. When you come close to winning to Cup, it's always in the back of your mind and you want to finish the job. I definitely have that mindset. where I'm at."
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The Golden Knights were 98-50-12 in three seasons under DeBoer, who replaced Gerard Gallant on Jan. 15, 2020.
"We had the advantage of time on our side and that we would use that," Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. "We were thorough, we did not interview a long list of candidates, we were pretty specific about what we were looking for, what we felt the right coach for our team needed to be. Partway through that process, the decision was made in Boston where Bruce was available, and able to be contacted. We got permission from Boston, which is part of how that process works. Really, it's eight days or whatever it's been since this happened for Bruce, so a lot's gone on in a short period of time."
The Golden Knights' four-season playoff streak was derailed by injuries and inconsistency this season, with forwards Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, defenseman Alec Martinez and goalie Robin Lehner among the players to miss extended stretches. Special teams were also an issue with Vegas 25th on the power play (18.4 percent) and 21st on the penalty kill (77.4 percent).
The Bruins were tied with the Buffalo Sabres for 15th on the power play (21.2 percent). They finished ninth in penalty killing (81.3 percent).
"I really can't stress enough the importance of special teams and I know that's been a challenge here at different times in the past," McCrimmon said. "Bruce has done it again and again and again. That's what, to me, is impressive. There are different teams and different coaches that, with the right personnel or in the right year, you have a real good power play or a real good penalty kill or maybe one's better than the other significantly. In Bruce's case, the penalty kill and the power play consistently have been very, very good for a long period of time, so that's really important to us. It's part of the decision making process we had in terms of what we think Bruce's strengths are and what can translate to our team. Certainly, it was talked about a lot."
Cassidy was 245-108-46 with Boston and 36-37 in the playoffs, including a seven-game loss to the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final in 2019. He's 292-155-53 with nine ties in 509 games in eight NHL seasons for the Bruins and Washington Capitals.
"When I got the news [in Boston], people reflect obviously but I wanted to go right back to work," Cassidy said. "I think I'm a young guy, I love coaching. That was a conversation I had with (wife) Julie very quickly. Hey, it's got to be the right fit for me, right fit for the team. that's an obvious. But I was going to try to pursue opportunities right away. As I told some people, I just got tired of being out of work, so here we are (laughs)."
Cassidy is the second coach hired since the conclusion of the regular season; Lane Lambert replaced Barry Trotz for the New York Islanders on May 16. The Bruins, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets each are conducting a search for a coach.
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report