Report Vegas Golden Knights Have Hired Bruce Cassidy as Head Coach

[SwampD]

11 hours ago, 7+6=13 said:

Enjoy yourself Ullmark. 

Maybe Ullmark is the coach killer.

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Maybe Ullmark is the coach killer.

Maybe.  

But the timing of this just seems 1 year early as Bergeron might walk and at least 3, if not 4, other key pieces are expected to miss at least 1 month of the season including the Rat Faced Git who might miss close to 6 months.

Did Bergeron tell Sweeney he might stay if Cassidy goes?  Doubt it, but at least that would make more sense for the timing.  Unless they really believe he's too tough on the young players that will need to fill in early in the year, but it never was an issue his 1st 5 years on the job.

[RochesterExpat]

I don’t know who Boston will replace him with, but I’m curious if Vegas pursues Cassidy now. 

[RochesterExpat]

39 minutes ago, RochesterExpat said:

I don’t know who Boston will replace him with

 

[dudacek]

9 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

That tweet is likely right. Cassidy was a good coach who had a solid defensive system and the team stats show that, but he's also a little out of step with the times and the direction of the league. He was horrible and far too demanding with young players. Guys like Studnicka would show promise, play well offensively and then make one defensive error and it was back to Providence. As said above, he was in some ways the anti Granato. 

Those defensive stats above were impressive, but goals for was only 15th, PP was average, the offense was really not that good. Tank? Change of direction? No idea, but that does open a playoff spot for sure. 

Or maybe Cassidy recognized Sweeny’s development program has been handing him Anders Bjorks for years and did what he needed to do to win.

The Bruins got immensely lucky with McAvoy and Pastrnak, but other than that they’ve been riding their 2011 core and culture for a decade now, and Cassidy has been a big part of that.

[matter2003]

When you get to that level as a team, even making the playoffs every year and going to the Stanley Cup Finals isn't good enough.  That's where we need to strive to be at.

12 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

That tweet is likely right. Cassidy was a good coach who had a solid defensive system and the team stats show that, but he's also a little out of step with the times and the direction of the league. He was horrible and far too demanding with young players. Guys like Studnicka would show promise, play well offensively and then make one defensive error and it was back to Providence. As said above, he was in some ways the anti Granato. 

Those defensive stats above were impressive, but goals for was only 15th, PP was average, the offense was really not that good. Tank? Change of direction? No idea, but that does open a playoff spot for sure. 

I highly doubt Boston is going to have much dropoff, they simply have too much talent there.  Age might end up doing them in more than coaching tho...a lot of their key players are starting to get up there in years. Bergeron will be 37 before the start of next season and Marchand is 34. 

Marchand's contract might be one of the best deals in sports...signed an 8 year 49 million dollar contract in 2016 with a cap hit of $6.125 million that he has hugely outplayed...Lowest point total was 69. 4 seasons between 80-87 points and 1 year with 100 points. Never scored under 28 goals either during that time.

Edited June 7, 2022 by matter2003

[French Collection]

11 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

When you get to that level as a team, even making the playoffs every year and going to the Stanley Cup Finals isn't good enough.  That's where we need to strive to be at.

I highly doubt Boston is going to have much dropoff, they simply have too much talent there.  Age might end up doing them in more than coaching tho...a lot of their key players are starting to get up there in years. Bergeron will be 37 before the start of next season and Marchand is 34. 

Marchand's contract might be one of the best deals in sports...signed an 8 year 49 million dollar contract in 2016 with a cap hit of $6.125 million that he has hugely outplayed...Lowest point total was 69. 4 seasons between 80-87 points and 1 year with 100 points. Never scored under 28 goals either during that time.

If Bergeron retires, I think they miss the playoffs.

[mjd1001]

 

23 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

When you get to that level as a team, even making the playoffs every year and going to the Stanley Cup Finals isn't good enough.  That's where we need to strive to be at.

I highly doubt Boston is going to have much dropoff, they simply have too much talent there.  Age might end up doing them in more than coaching tho...a lot of their key players are starting to get up there in years. Bergeron will be 37 before the start of next season and Marchand is 34. 

I expect a small to moderate drop-off from Boston based on this.  I don't have much of a connection to the Bruins anymore after not living in Boston for over a decade, but I did talk to a couple of co-workers form our Boston office who are huge Bruin fans a little while ago (while waiting for a  Conf Call) and what they said is what I expected.

The Bruins have started a small turnover of the older guys on their roster, while keeping some of them, and the organization wants to thread-the-needle of doing a soft rebuild/retool while still remaining competitive and playoff bound while it occurs.

Kreiji and Bergeron are done, Foligno (while not a major part) might be, and Marchand is still a great player under contract but he won't be carrying this team for years. They want McAvoy and Pastrnak to be this teams without-question leaders, and want to bring along Lohrei, Lysell, Studnicka, and Zboril.  Cassidy was viewed as the best coach for the team the last few years, maybe the coach which would give them the MOST points next year, but not a guy who could bring along and nurture a new young leadership group and bring young guys into the lineup as well as who they are likely to pick.

Personally, I think this is a mistake. I would have kept Cassidy around for one more year and went 100% toward a cup run next year. Are/were they good enough to do that in 2022? probably not, but the future isn't looking bright for that franchise.  The farm system/prospects are bare.  In the past 5 drafts, they have a total of 3 guys picked in the top 50 picks of their draft (Lysell, Beecher, and Vaakanainen.) Of those 3, Beecher has had injuries and is just out of college, and hasn't impressed in any of his training camps. Lysell is a 19 year old who was still in Juniors, and Vaakanainen is gone. Studnicka last year was hoped to be a find in the 2nd round, but he has been a pretty big disapointment for them in the last 12 months, not developing much as a prospect. 

The Bruins should be pushing to be good for one more year with Cassidy, if that fails you go into full blow rebuild mode, needing to rebuild a lot of your young core (rebuild mode, not quite 'tank' mode though.)

Edited June 7, 2022 by mjd1001

[Doohicksie]

4 hours ago, RochesterExpat said:

I don’t know who Boston will replace him with, but I’m curious if Vegas pursues Cassidy now. 

I'm sure Jack will love playing for a shut-down, defensive-minded coach  😛

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, dudacek said:

Or maybe Cassidy recognized Sweeny’s development program has been handing him Anders Bjorks for years and did what he needed to do to win.

The Bruins got immensely lucky with McAvoy and Pastrnak, but other than that they’ve been riding their 2011 core and culture for a decade now, and Cassidy has been a big part of that.

That's true, and Bruins fans aren't real happy with Sweeney (or Neely) either. They have squandered quite a few prospects and picks with deadline attempts to make cup runs too. For example, they gave Lindgren to the Rangers in the Rick Nash deal, and then a few years later were shopping for the exact same type of defenseman and then gave up more to get Lindholm. The 2015 draft haunts them forever obviously. 

I suspect there is more in the works, there will be some trades, and likely a change of direction. A lot depends on what Bergeron is doing as well as the rumour that Krejci might want to return. 

Ullmark has a no trade clause but I suspect a number of players could be moved. I'm sure KA will give them a phone call to see who or what might be on the market. 

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, matter2003 said:

When you get to that level as a team, even making the playoffs every year and going to the Stanley Cup Finals isn't good enough.  That's where we need to strive to be at.

I highly doubt Boston is going to have much dropoff, they simply have too much talent there.  Age might end up doing them in more than coaching tho...a lot of their key players are starting to get up there in years. Bergeron will be 37 before the start of next season and Marchand is 34. 

Marchand's contract might be one of the best deals in sports...signed an 8 year 49 million dollar contract in 2016 with a cap hit of $6.125 million that he has hugely outplayed...Lowest point total was 69. 4 seasons between 80-87 points and 1 year with 100 points. Never scored under 28 goals either during that time.

I agree with the first sentence. The bar in Boston is certainly much higher than it is here in Buffalo and that is the way it should be. They do have a winning culture there for sure. 

As to the drop off, I wouldn't be so sure. McAvoy and Marchand both had surgeries, out 6 months. Reilly and Bergeron also had lesser surgeries. Bergeron might retire. Bottom end of the roster is incapable of scoring, prospect pool is small. Their season could be over by Xmas. 

[PerreaultForever]

Reading this, it sounds like a rebuild is maybe the plan:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/06/07/sports/bruins-boss-don-sweeney-admits-team-could-be-facing-rebuild-under-new-coach/

Looking at the expiring contracts, Haula, Frederic and Clifton are all players who could help the Sabres be better (for the right price obviously). 

Maybe take that Nick Foligno contract off their hands (one year) if they throw in Frederic or Clifton for free. 

[Huckleberry]

Marchand and McAvoy out to start the season, Bergeron maybe retiring.   Though they might get Krejci back , apparently didn't like Cassidy.

[inkman]

6 hours ago, matter2003 said:

When you get to that level as a team, even making the playoffs every year and going to the Stanley Cup Finals isn't good enough.  That's where we need to strive to be at.

I highly doubt Boston is going to have much dropoff, they simply have too much talent there.  Age might end up doing them in more than coaching tho...a lot of their key players are starting to get up there in years. Bergeron will be 37 before the start of next season and Marchand is 34. 

Marchand's contract might be one of the best deals in sports...signed an 8 year 49 million dollar contract in 2016 with a cap hit of $6.125 million that he has hugely outplayed...Lowest point total was 69. 4 seasons between 80-87 points and 1 year with 100 points. Never scored under 28 goals either during that time.

I don’t really ever need to read anyone waxing poetic about the single biggest ass***** in sports history 

[matter2003]

2 hours ago, inkman said:

I don’t really ever need to read anyone waxing poetic about the single biggest ass***** in sports history 

Oh don't get me wrong...if I ever saw him walking down the street, I would walk over and pinch him in the face no hesitation...

 

But you know damn well you'd love him if he was on our team.

[Porous Five Hole]

7 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

Oh don't get me wrong...if I ever saw him walking down the street, I would walk over and pinch him in the face no hesitation...

 

But you know damn well you'd love him if he was on our team.

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, matter2003 said:

Oh don't get me wrong...if I ever saw him walking down the street, I would walk over and pinch him in the face no hesitation...

But you know damn well you'd love him if he was on our team.

Oh we would have grinned and bore it like with did with Jack, but just like Jack if he were on our team he'd be "a jerk, but our jerk, dammit!"  Instead he's just another jerk.

[Zamboni]

2 hours ago, matter2003 said:

Oh don't get me wrong...if I ever saw him walking down the street, I would walk over and pinch him in the face no hesitation...

 

But you know damn well you'd love him if he was on our team.

That’s where you are wrong. Believe it or not, there does exist fans of hockey that don’t like scum bag AND would not like him on the team they follow/a fan of.  I’m one of those people. And I’m not alone. You are of a different mind set. So be it. 

Edited June 8, 2022 by Zamboni

[PerreaultForever]

7 hours ago, inkman said:

I don’t really ever need to read anyone waxing poetic about the single biggest ass***** in sports history 

I know ya'll hate old Marchand but biggest......in sports history? Really? I can think of quite a few guys just in hockey that were either dirtier or rattier and definitely had a lot less goals and assists. One of them wore Sabres colours, good old Matt Barnaby. Barnaby was our rat but he was pure dirty scum, and dumb as a post. 

I'm thinking over hockey history and have a few names you might remember. Darcy Tucker. Could play, quite a bit like Marchand, but not nearly as good and I'd say far dirtier. Kenny Linsman, possibly the biggest rat in history the way he'd start things and never finish them himself. Matt Cooke, king of the cheap shots. Claude Lemieux, now there's a man who defined dirty. Apple fell near the tree with his less talented son too. How about Dale Hunter? Let's ask Pierre Turgeon about him. Mr. Knee on knee Bryan Marchment is another good one.

But the absolute winner for me is Sean Avery. Biggest ass....in hockey history without question. 

[inkman]

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I know ya'll hate old Marchand but biggest......in sports history? Really? I can think of quite a few guys just in hockey that were either dirtier or rattier and definitely had a lot less goals and assists. One of them wore Sabres colours, good old Matt Barnaby. Barnaby was our rat but he was pure dirty scum, and dumb as a post. 

I'm thinking over hockey history and have a few names you might remember. Darcy Tucker. Could play, quite a bit like Marchand, but not nearly as good and I'd say far dirtier. Kenny Linsman, possibly the biggest rat in history the way he'd start things and never finish them himself. Matt Cooke, king of the cheap shots. Claude Lemieux, now there's a man who defined dirty. Apple fell near the tree with his less talented son too. How about Dale Hunter? Let's ask Pierre Turgeon about him. Mr. Knee on knee Bryan Marchment is another good one.

But the absolute winner for me is Sean Avery. Biggest ass....in hockey history without question. 

Brad Marchand licked another players face.  I honestly don’t care how good at hockey he is.  He is a class A scumbag.  A whiney, dirty, coward.  

[Doohicksie]

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Claude Lemieux, now there's a man who defined dirty.

That's who immediately came to mind for me.  I can't really argue against Avery as the worst.

[French Collection]

31 minutes ago, inkman said:

Brad Marchand licked another players face.  I honestly don’t care how good at hockey he is.  He is a class A scumbag.  A whiney, dirty, coward.  

He also has a punchable face. My wires would cross playing vs him and I would’ve gotten suspended for life, or had my face caved in by Chara.

[inkman]

1 hour ago, French Collection said:

He also has a punchable face. My wires would cross playing vs him and I would’ve gotten suspended for life, or had my face caved in by Chara.

Yeah I wouldn’t last one shift.  

[Doohicksie]

Can we all agree that it's fun watching a heated rival fall off the table?  😄

[Hawerchuk]

10 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I'm thinking over hockey history and have a few names you might remember. Darcy Tucker. Could play, quite a bit like Marchand, but not nearly as good and I'd say far dirtier. Kenny Linsman, possibly the biggest rat in history the way he'd start things and never finish them himself. Matt Cooke, king of the cheap shots. Claude Lemieux, now there's a man who defined dirty. Apple fell near the tree with his less talented son too. How about Dale Hunter? Let's ask Pierre Turgeon about him. Mr. Knee on knee Bryan Marchment is another good one.

But the absolute winner for me is Sean Avery. Biggest ass....in hockey history without question. 

Agree 100% on Claude Lemieux. He's at the top of my list. Dale Hunter is second.