Persistence, patience pay off for Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy
with dual affiliations and players always coming and going. With his personal and professional dealings with Cassidy, he had no qualms about hiring him.
“I knew him as a person and what he stood for, and I knew I could talk to him and go over things,” said Chiarelli. “He’s very honest, very frank. He’s smart, and he wanted to improve. I always knew he had a passion to coach — and he’s good at it.
Cassidy spent eight years in Providence, the last five as head coach after replacing Rob Murray. He’s had a hand in developing a number of current Bruins, including Torey Krug, David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner and Frank Vatrano. He likes his teams playing at a fast pace. “Butch has a really aggressive mindset and is open to creativity, too. Not that Claude (Julien) didn’t have that, but that’s what Butch brings,” said Krug. He also held players accounta bl e . He once scratched Spooner, a top prospect, for a playoff game. Promoted to Boston after the B’s late flame-out last season, Cassidy handled the defense until Julien, who was let go after a 10year run and Cassidy was made the interim head coach. “I’m very surprised he hasn’t gotten a chance before now, but I give him credit for putting in all the work to get back there. That never hurts,” said McPhee.. While GM Don Sweeney has not committed to him long- term yet, Cassidy is not thinking of himself as an interim employee. In just three games, all wins, he’s put his fingerprints on the operation. The defensemen are jumping into the play more and he’s tinkered with the lines in an effort to balance out the scoring. The biggest upshot of that is David Krejci, now paired with Pastrnak, is playing his most inspired hockey of the season. On Sunday in San Jose, the B’s will try to answer just how this show plays on the road — not a minor consideration.
For however long his opportunity lasts, Cassidy plans to apply his hard-earned knowledge to the task.
“Personally, it’s been a long climb back, and you never know if you’re ever going to get another chance,” said Cassidy. “People would ask me, ‘Does it eat at you (not being in the NHL)?’ No, it doesn’t eat at me, but you have to take some time and think about what you would do if you get another chance.
“I’ve got one, and I’m thankful and honored, especially for it to be with the Bruins.”