The Boston Bruins fired head coach Bruce Cassidy, the team announced Monday. The move comes after Boston lost in the opening round of the NHL playoffs to the Carolina Hurricanes.
“After 14 years working with Bruce, this was an extremely difficult decision,” team 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.”
Cassidy, 57, had been with the Bruins since the 2016-17 season, when he took over as interim head coach after Claude Julien was fired in the middle of the campaign.
In Cassidy’s first full season, 2017-18, he led the Bruins to a 50-20-12 record, and the following year, the Bruins made it to the Stanley Cup Final where they lost to the St. Louis Blues in seven games. Since then, Boston has not advanced past the second round of the playoffs. This year, the Bruins won 51 games, but their first-round exit against the Hurricanes was their earliest since Cassidy became full-time head coach.
Overall, Cassidy boasted a 245-108-46 record in his five-plus years in Boston. He won the 2019-20 Jack Adams Award, which is given to the NHL’s top coach.
