{"id":757830,"date":"2026-04-28T01:09:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T01:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/757830\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T01:09:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T01:09:13","slug":"bruce-cassidy-speaks-about-vegas-firing-that-certainly-caught-him-off-guard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/757830\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruce Cassidy Speaks About Vegas Firing That “Certainly Caught Him Off Guard”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a> (Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)<\/p>\n

29 days ago, the Vegas Golden Knights pulled off another shocking move, firing Bruce Cassidy and bringing in John Tortorella with just eight games left in the regular season. While everyone still with Vegas is focused on the task at hand, facing a 2-1 deficit to the Utah Mammoth in the First Round, their former head coach already has his eyes set on the future.<\/p>\n

In his first extended public appearance since the firing, Cassidy joined Leafs Morning Take<\/a> to chat about the NHL playoffs as well as his dismissal from Vegas.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s the business sometimes. I mean, I got an opportunity because a good fella got fired, and that\u2019s the way it goes at times for us. That\u2019s the business we chose. The timing of it was a little different, but they got a good group in there. They got good players, good leadership, lots of character, so I enjoyed being there. But on to the next challenge now is the way I\u2019ll look at it. \u2013Cassidy on Leafs Morning Take<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Cassidy admitted he was surprised not only by the move but by the timing.<\/p>\n

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Yeah, I mean, we didn\u2019t have a great March, certainly by our standards. We were not winning games. Losing the close ones, finding different ways to lose as opposed to win, something we had done very well over the years there. But still you\u2019re that far along so yeah that certainly caught me off guard, but I know that Vegas is going to do whatever they have to do to win, and they felt that\u2019s what they had to do. \u2013Cassidy on Leafs Morning Take<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Cassidy left the Golden Knights with a regular season record of 245-108-46, won five out of seven playoff series, and of course, hoisted the Stanley Cup. He was the longest-tenured and most successful coach in franchise history, but was not given a chance to see it through with the team he felt he was shaping for this playoff run, since the moment they lost to Edmonton in the playoffs last year.<\/p>\n

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With a team like Vegas, we started in Training Camp in October, building our game for areas that we thought we would be better at in the playoffs, because you evaluate yourself on the year before, right? Against Edmonton, Round Two last year, we didn\u2019t score enough, so you try to build those habits into your game. \u2013Cassidy on Leafs Morning Take<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s clear Cassidy doesn\u2019t expect to sit on the sidelines long.<\/p>\n

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We\u2019ll see if that happens. For me, the most important thing is an opportunity to win, I\u2019m not getting any younger. So, I\u2019m in it to try to win a Stanley Cup. It happened once and I lost in a Game Seven once, so that\u2019s what motivates me. That would be probably the most important thing. But, I will say every job I got hired to in the NHL as a head coach, the team the year before missed the playoffs. So, it\u2019s not always automatic that it\u2019s a team that\u2019s right there. Sometimes they have an off year or something\u2019s happening, so that\u2019s tougher to evaluate. You never know how it\u2019s going to play out, but opportunity first and then location. I have two kids in high school, so they\u2019ll factor into a decision and go from there. \u2013Cassidy on Leafs Morning Take<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As of right now, none of the 32 NHL coaching jobs are vacant, so he\u2019s going to have to wait his turn. Nonetheless, the moment a job opens up, and every single one that does until he accepts, Bruce Cassidy will surely be atop the list of potential candidates.<\/p>\n

*The whole interview, which is excellent, can be viewed below.*<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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