Patient approach has Flyers in position to pursue Cassidy — and they should originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Throughout May and into June, we’re looking at potential candidates for the Flyers’ head coaching vacancy.
“We’re going to sit down and try to build that ideal candidate profile and really keep all options open, maybe look at it from a little broader perspective,” Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said May 3. “Clearly we have to sit down and really drill down in terms of what we’re looking for. I’m sure there will be a lot of quality candidates we’ll speak to.”
We’ve looked at Barry Trotz, Rick Tocchet, Paul Maurice, Jim Montgomery, John Tortorella, Peter DeBoer, Scott Sandelin, David Quinn, Kirk Muller, Mike Vellucci and Spencer Carbery. Next up in our series is Bruce Cassidy, who surprisingly hit the coaching market Monday night when he was fired by the Bruins.
Why Cassidy would be a fit
With Boston saying goodbye to Cassidy, seven teams now have a head coaching vacancy to fill. The Bruins joined the Flyers, Blackhawks, Golden Knights, Jets, Red Wings and Stars.
The Flyers officially announced their head coaching search on May 3. They’re clearly taking a diligent and thorough approach.
“As long as it takes,” Fletcher said last month, “that’s what we’ll take.”
The patience has suddenly yielded them a top-notch candidate in Cassidy.
The Flyers, like others, could be waiting for the first shoe to drop on the coaching landscape to make their decision. But regardless of how far along the Flyers are in their search, even if they have a front-runner pegged, they’d be foolish to not look into Cassidy.
It’s not often a team parts ways with a coach after a 51-win, 107-point season and sixth straight playoff appearance. That’s what happened with Cassidy in Boston.
If you’re the Flyers, there’s a ton to like with the 57-year-old. In parts of six seasons with the Bruins, Cassidy never missed the playoffs and took Boston to Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. He had four seasons of 100 or more points and a .672 points percentage over his tenure.
Cassidy took home the 2019-20 Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year). Alain Vigneault, in his first season leading the Flyers, was a finalist along with Tortorella.
Through his 399 games as the Bruins’ head coach, Boston allowed the NHL’s fewest goals per game (2.52), had the third-ranked power play (23.9 percent) and penalty kill (82.9 percent), and was tied for eighth in goals per game (3.16).
Pretty darn good.
Cassidy, who went 13-3-5 against the Flyers as the Bruins’ bench boss, would also be fully equipped to handle the pressure of Philadelphia. He had consistent success in a market just like it.
Why Cassidy would not be a fit
Similar to Trotz, Cassidy should have interest from multiple teams. If the Flyers wanted Cassidy, would he want them over others?
One would think the Flyers being in the Northeast could help their chances. Including his time with the Bruins’ AHL affiliate Providence, Cassidy has coached in the Northeast for nearly the last 15 years.
Some may argue that Cassidy was fortunate to have the elite trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. He also had one of the league’s better goalies in Tuukka Rask for the majority of his Boston tenure.
Can Cassidy get more out of less like a Trotz or Tortorella? That could be up for debate.
Right now, the Flyers definitely have a talent deficiency. They’re hoping to improve their talent level in the offseason and by natural development of their top prospects.
While Cassidy did have some star power, he also got a lot out of his depth pieces each year to round Boston into a complete team.
Criticizing Cassidy for his postseason résumé may be nitpicking, but he does not have the playoff profile of the other established coaches on the market. He’s 38-41 (.481) in the postseason. For context, former Flyers assistant coach Michel Therrien is 38-33 (.535). He was fired by the club in December along with Vigneault.
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