LAS VEGAS — Bruce Cassidy, the third coach for the Las Vegas Clippers. Vegas Golden Knights In the sixth year of the franchise, he stated that the decision was “no-brainer” from the hockey perspective.
Since entering the league in 2017, Vegas has been one the NHL’s most successful clubs, reaching the playoffs four times and even making it to the Stanley Cup Final its first season.
Cassidy’s biggest challenge was convincing his wife Julie and their children Shannon and Cole about moving to Las Vegas.
“I’m Canadian, she’s New Jersey. What would it affect the children?” Cassidy stated this Thursday at his introductory news conference. Cole is going to have to agree with me that the Black and Silver Raiders are his team and not the Pats. He’s a New Englander and that’ll make it difficult. He can have the Red Sox but he must give up the Pats, I’ll tell them.
They are officially the Golden Knights in hockey, however.
Cassidy, now 57, was the coach Boston Bruins Six straight playoff appearances, after replacing Claude Julien at the end of the 2016-17 season. On June 6, 2016, he had a record of 245-108-446 with Boston, a month after the Bruins lost seven-game series to Carolina.
Kelly McCrimmon, general manager of Vegas, said Thursday that Cassidy embodies all the qualities the franchise has always expected from a coach.
These include a team that is well-structured and can move the puck in the other direction quickly, keeping opponents in attack mode while staying on their heels. High-end offensive defencemen can push the pace.
The defense of Boston was in the top five for goals allowed during this season. Cassidy took control of the Bruins in 2017, and they had both the third-best penalty kill (82.9%) and power play (23.9%).
Cassidy stated, “I believe in general I have done a great job with certain aspects of the game that are crucial in the National Hockey League.” “That’s what I believe I can bring to the game and I have tried to get my teams to play. It seems like this group will be able to play that way and excel in it.
The league’s 25th-ranked power-play conversion rate for the Golden Knights was 18.4% this season. Vegas was 21st in power play (18.6%), during Pete DeBoer’s 2 1/2 year tenure.
McCrimmon admitted that McCrimmon knows it has been difficult in the past. “Bruce has done this again and again. That’s what I find impressive. You can have a great power play or a good penalty kill with different coaches and teams. Perhaps one is more important than the other.
“In Bruce’s case, the penalty killing and power play were consistently very, very high for a long time.”
Cassidy explained that knowing that the team has had two coaches, neither of whom have lasted more than 2 1/2 seasons, was no issue.
Cassidy’s first stint in Washington was as a head coach. After compiling a record in 2002-03 of 39-29-8, he led the Capitals into the playoffs. He was a Knights president of hockey operations George McPhee. McPhee fired Cassidy after only 25 games.
“Winning the postseason. “I think that when you get close to winning a Cup, it’s always there in your mind. You want to finish this job and definitely have that mindset,” said he. “I thought I did an excellent job in Boston, and here I am.
“I want my name to be on the Stanley Cup… and I believe that this team has the potential to do that.”
Vegas also announced that a veteran defenseman was being promoted Shea Weber This was acquired in a trade Montreal, Canada for forward Evgenii Dadonov. Weber, 36 years old, did not play in any game last season because of multiple lower-body injuries. He will continue to be an injured reserve.