Well, no one saw that coming.
In a surprise announcement, the Boston Bruins revealed that they have fired Bruce Cassidy as head coach after the club’s first-round exit from the playoffs this season.
Cassidy spent six seasons behind the Bruins’ bench, leading them to the playoffs each year, and even booking a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019 before ultimately losing to the St. Louis Blues.
In total, Cassidy now ends his Bruins tenure after 399 regular-season games, compiling a record of 245-108-49 and a 36-37 record in the playoffs.
Speaking with ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski immediately after the news broke, Bruins GM Don Sweeney justified the decision to move on from Cassidy by saying, “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.”
With Cassidy now out of a job, the list of free-agent head coaches only grows larger by adding another marquee name to go with the likes of Barry Trotz, Paul Maurice (if he chooses to coach again), and Claude Julien.
It’s unlikely that Cassidy will go without a job for very long. And with the sheer number of available coaching positions across the league, the candidates for his services will assuredly come knocking right away.
