According to reports that are surfacing today, former Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy was told by Bruins upper management that his job was safe before being fired earlier this week. Specifically, in a meeting just a couple of weeks ago, Cassidy was led to believe he would be back with the team as the head coach and then the rug was pulled out from under him by Don Sweeney a few days ago, which is why the former coach took the news of his termination so poorly.
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Bruce Cassidy was told by Bruins upper management that his job was safe before being fired earlier this week. pic.twitter.com/itp45Fxr9Y
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 9, 2022
Sweeney admitted that Cassidy was very upset to learn he was being fired. What Sweeney didn’t say was that it could be because the coach was told his job was safe.
The Bruins won 245 games after hiring Cassidy, the third-most in the league in that span. It was a surprise to many to hear he’d been terminated earlier this week, especially since the team continued to make the playoffs and do so in a conference where they didn’t necessarily stack up personnel-wise. They made the playoffs all six years he was the coach.
In a meeting with the media today, Cassidy said “I feel I did my job.” He also noted that he wants to coach in the NHL next season and has no desire to sit out. He says that multiple teams have already reached out about head coaching jobs. “I wanna get back to work. Hopefully it’s a really good fit for both sides.”
Was Cam Neely Behind the Firing?
There’s a belief that the decision to fire Cassidy wasn’t Sweeney’s, but was initiated by Cam Neely. Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now tweets, “Cassidy got railroaded by Cam Neely. Sweeney fought to keep Cassidy as #NHLBruins head coach after Neely’s end-of-season comments, but Neely said no.”
The question now is, will there be tension between Sweeney and Neely? Are these two on the same page and is Neely starting to take a more hands-on approach to how this team is going to be rebuilt?
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