Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon revealed Wednesday the team granted former head coach Bruce Cassidy permission to talk to one team this off-season, but he did not land the vacant job.
McCrimmon revealed permission was granted midway through the Stanley Cup Final. He said the team will decide whether to grant permission regarding Cassidy on a case-by-case basis moving forward. The 61-year-old’s contract runs through next season.
Cassidy, who led the Golden Knights to the 2023 Stanley Cup, was fired on Mar. 30 with only eight games remaining on the regular-season schedule. John Tortorella was hired to replace him and led Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final.
Vegas announced Tuesday that Tortorella would not return behind the bench, hiring Ryan Craig as their new coach on Wednesday.
The Golden Knights blocked division rivals in the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings from interviewing Cassidy for their vacancies in May. The Kings subsequently hired Peter Laviolette last week and only the Oilers job remains vacant after the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Jim Hiller on Wednesday morning.
“It’s only news because Edmonton [Oilers] leaked it,” McCrimmon said last month of withholding permission. “This isn’t something that came out of our organization. We’ve been forced to respond to it, which we did prior to our series against the [Colorado] Avalanche.”
Cassidy told Barstool Sports’ Spittin’ Chiclets podcast that he wants to get back to coaching. However, even though he has been relieved of his coaching duties, he is still under contract with the Golden Knights and is beholden to their wishes.
“It’s upsetting, I’m going to be honest,” Cassidy said of his situation. “Once you’re fired, your contract is basically terminated, but the one thing people don’t realize is all the deals, with NHL bylaws and this and that, you’ve got no-compete clauses. So I can’t resign today and go work for someone tomorrow...I can’t work until Vegas gives me permission and this contract is up at the end of next season.
“There were two teams that asked [to interview me], it’s public knowledge now, and I would like to talk to them. I want to go to work. I’m a hockey coach.”
In four seasons at the helm of the Golden Knights, Cassidy amassed a record of 178-99-43. Prior to joining Vegas, Cassidy spent six seasons as head coach of the Boston Bruins (2016 to 2022) and two as bench boss of the Washington Capitals (2002 to 2004). For his career, Cassidy has a 470-254-9-96 (.521) record across 12 NHL seasons.
